In this theoretical article, we analyze indoctrination in relation to the aims of democratic political education using a theory of indoctrination which is based on the work of Jürgen Habermas. In particular, we examine how the challenge of indoctrination is connected to the goals of democratic political education and how this issue can be avoided.…

Rudolf Steiner's international Waldorf education is comparatively under-researched for a 100-year-old education movement which thrives globally. What is further unknown in academic educational circles is the specific study of the "feeling-life," the middle period of childhood in Waldorf education, of children aged 7 through 14. This…

This article explores how ideology is embedded in the cultural content of textbooks used in Germany's integration courses for migrants. Using critical multimodal discourse analysis, I analyze two dimensions of meaning in linguistic and visual (multimodal) texts: meaning as representation and meaning as inter/action. I analyze how social actors are…

People learn when they have to learn. This quite simple but antiquated insight of motivational psychology can be interpreted in various ways. First of all, it can be understood in a very traditional way as an argument for authoritarian class-management and educational control through external incentives like grades, shame and punishments. On the…

This article examines how some schools with ethnically diverse student populations are teaching "about," "for," and "through" human rights. The author conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data from a multi-site study, which included secondary schools serving students from immigrant backgrounds in four…

Across democracies, education predicts electoral participation and political interest. Here, German students on the pre-vocational and pre-academic educational tracks are compared to show how these differences emerge, and thus indicate how they can be addressed. In a Preliminary Study, a large dataset (3747 participants) revealed that there is a…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to describe the state of current citizenship education in Germany with the focus on education in schools. The term 'education' in this paper refers to the concept of Bildung. It not only describes how to teach, but also the ability of self-determination of the individual. Methodology: The main focus of this…

Purpose: This article contains a reflection on researching in global citizenship education with a critical approach that aims to transcend the paradigm of methodological nationalism. Design/methodology/approach: Starting from outlining different dimensions of global citizenship (education), and looking at the current research situation in GCE, we…

This study explores how globalization, migration, and citizenship education intersect in four northwest European democracies. In this study of secondary schools serving students from immigrant backgrounds in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (England and Scotland), I interviewed teachers and students and observed…

At the heart of the nineteenth-century educational soundscape lies a paradox. Whilst "modern" classrooms generally strived for orderly silence, the goal of its educational practices was the production of competent "citizens". Middle-class boys in particular were expected to acquire a voice fit for business, the professions, or…

This article presents an analysis of a teaching concept we developed based on the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) (Council of Europe, 2018), that not only provides opportunities to practice communicative skills but puts a major focus on democratic competences. Mathematics students and TEFL (Teaching English as a…

The European Framework for Key Competences (2006) promotes a shared European identity as a priority for assuring a cohesive future for the European Union (EU), yet the development of a discrete European identity remains acutely contentious, with critics claiming it is too shallow to support the bonds of solidarity needed to engender and support a…

Purpose: The article shows the use of specific educational media in social studies in vocational schools to foster a differentiated historical and political literacy. Design/methodology/approach: Accordingly, the article examines a sequence of lessons taught by the author in a vocational classroom, fostering reflexive historical-political…

Purpose: The aim of the research is to determine to what extent one can talk about "cosmopolitan citizenship" not only programmatically, but also as an already functioning entity. And what role can and should civic education play in the development of such a citizenship? Methods: A working definition of citizenship at the national,…

This essay shares impressions from French and German higher education through a comparative US lens, with a special focus on internationalization and mobility. The author integrates the theoretical lens of Gert Biesta's Pedagogy of Interruption to posit that international experiences facilitate encounters with otherness that spark new ways of…