Putting Action (back) into Active Citizenship and Praxis (back) into Practice – the Doing Democracy Research Project in Australia

Dr David Zyngier Education Faculty Monash University Victoria Australia

http://doingdemocracy.ning.com/

Outline

• Background to a broader study of the understandings of democracy by Pre-service Teachers, Teacher Education Academics, and In-service Teachers

• review the New Citizens and Civics Education (CCE) in Australia

• Use framework of:– Barber’s Strong Democracy (Barber, 2004), – Westheimer and Kahne (2003) Kinds of Good

Citizens - responsible, participatory and justice oriented

– Gandin and Apple (2002) Thin & Thick Democracy

Doing Democracy: Global Doing Democracy Research Projectpart of a comparative and contrasting study of education students, teachers and their educators in Australia, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe The research explores three themes:

1. the apparent predisposition among teachers is to understand democracy and politics in a thin way;

2. the potential for teachers to do thick democracy in education; and

3. teachers understanding of the importance of power and difference in relation to democracy. The focus of this research study is how education supports, cultivates and engages in/with democracy.

thin as opposed to thick democracy

Conceptualize the visible tension between:• the superficial features often associated with

teaching about democracy that focus on civics and citizenship

• fundamental scaffolding which, permits people to appropriate the deeper meaning of the term democracy (Gandin & Apple, 2002)

• students know that civic engagement is not an individual, private endeavour.

A Critical Citizenship?• various Australian academic research suggests that the CCE Project

only requires some augmentation to make it critical– sustainability – Globalisation

• ‘further work is required to promote depth and breadth’ (Dejaeghere & Tudball, 2007, p. 41)

• ‘investigation of and participation in activities that support sustainable practices, social justice and underpin the future well being of societies from a local to a global level’ (Dejaeghere & Tudball, 2007, p. 44)

• The goal of critical citizenship is to provide the conditions for collective social change’ (Dejaeghere & Tudball, 2007, p. 49)

• ‘primary goal of CE is to prepare the next generation of citizens for enlightened political engagement’ (Print and Coleman, 2003, p. 130

• new CCE should ‘generate cooperation, networking, trust and cohesiveness’ (Print & Coleman, 2003, p. 136) that is compliance and homogeneity in Australian schools )

Thin democratic discourses

• activities such as students contributing food to a food drive or in a more active participatory manner organising a food drive for the poor. (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004)

Thick democracy discourses

• Explore why people are hungry and act to solve its root causes (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004)

What do Pre-service Teachers, Teachers & Education Academics think about Democracy?

• Pre-service Teachers N= 55• Teachers N=65• Education Academics=40

Is Australia a Democratic society?

AcademicsPre-service teachers Teachers

         

Not very Somewhat Very

Is the USA Democratic?

AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers

         

Not very Somewhat Very

AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers

Since the Bali Bombing is Australia a more or less democratic country?

         

Much less Somewhat Much more

Are elections important to Democracy?

AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers

         

Not very Somewhat Very

AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers

Do you feel that you are actively engaged in democracy?

         

Not at all Somewhat Very active

AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers

Should teachers strive to inculcate a sense of democracy in students?

         

Not at all SomewhatMost

Definitely

What a thick democracy might look like in school education• Discussion …