Educating for democracy? A discussion of preconditions for the school’s democratizing function

Abstract

he purpose of the article is to discuss pedagogical preconditions for the role of the school as a democratic institution, in connection with the renewal of the Norwegian curriculum. Democratic citizenship is something that is learned, and the curriculum alignment can tell a lot about what kind of democracy the school is going to help build for citizens of the future. In this article, we argue that four preconditions are particularly important. Firstly, the school’s mission as a democracy-forming institution should be understood in a youth perspective. Secondly, democratic citizenship is something that is learned, and the youth perspective must therefore be based on learning theoretical presuppositions. Third, we argue that the school can be seen as an institution mediating between children and the greater communities. Fourth, we argue that the school should build on democracy as a way of life, and not limited to democracy as a political regime.