Education-related responses to our current democratic crisis have largely been focused on schooling children and youth. This narrow focus has foreclosed or diverted our attention from other possibilities for democratic education, especially as it relates to adult citizens and the ways in which such education can -- and must -- extend beyond…

In "Deliberative Policymaking," Elizabeth Grant advances a fresh framework for making collective decisions about US schools. Grant argues that education policy itself can be made fundamentally better by improving education policymaking methods. Informed by accounts of recent policymaking actions as well as her own considerable experience…

Despite the remarkable growth of Korean education, this book sheds light on 'repressive' Korean education where critical thinking and action, which are essential for living in a democratic society, are considered as threats to society and thus regulated. Drawing on research findings and many case examples, the author particularly highlights that…

The guidelines followed by many educational boards recommend behavioristic practices for dealing with student discipline; however, Lawrence Kohlberg's idea of organizing schools as "just communities" suggests a more promising approach. It translates to the school context the core principle of Habermas's discourse ethics: "those…

Although inquiry-based instruction has been a centerpiece of progressive visions of social studies education almost since its inception as a school subject a century ago, teachers often struggle to conceptualize it in ways that make true inquiry possible for their students. In this essay I suggest that social educators strengthen their connection…

Invitational Theory is rooted in three theoretical foundations, perceptual theory, self-concept theory, and a democratic ethos (Purkey, Novak, and Fretz, 2020). This essay addresses the third of these foundations, a "Democratic Ethos." While "perceptual theory" and "self-concept theory" provide a relational foundation…

The article considers the intellectual odyssey of the Hungarian sociologist Karl Mannheim (1893-1947) during the three phases of his career: as a Jewish intellectual and philosopher in Hungary during the communist revolution of 1919, as an exile in the German Weimar Republic from 1920 to 1933, and as a refugee from Nazi Germany in England from…

When a hero is lost to history, it matters that his work and name should be discussed. Such is the case for Janusz Korczak or Henryk Goldszmit, a courageous fighter for democracy in Poland during the first half of the 20th century. Korczak, the pen name he used for his writings, founded two orphanages where he provided an environment for all the…

In a time of for-profit schooling, continuing segregation, racism, book banning, unconscionable inequality, and antiquated approaches to pedagogy, the prescription for democratic schooling seems daunting. Yet the path is clear: We need to change society to enable democracy in schools; we need democratic schooling to bring the public out of its…

The assault on democratic values is not new--nor is the effort to promote the critical literacy skills necessary to understand the cultural, economic, moral, and social issues that underline these social concerns. Unfortunately, in modern society we have conflated an associated way of living with government, and government with politics, and…

The main objective of this paper is to analyse the discourses of democratic values in the last Spanish curriculum of history education. The procedure analysis is a CDA (critical discourse analysis) following Wodak's methodology and an "ad hoc" instrument focusing on the description of the ideological perspectives in the curricula, the…

Background: There is a common sense in U.S. education research that the current political moment is one defined by increasing polarization, accusations of educational indoctrination, and concerns of duped minds. To address fears of indoctrination, education research and major educational organizations have renewed calls for civic reasoning,…

With the UK Government moving to a posture of 'war fighting readiness' amid intensifying global conflict, a new HEPI Policy Note warns higher education remains an untapped asset in national preparedness. "The Wartime University: The Role of Higher Education in Civil Readiness" by Gary Fisher argues UK universities must be recognised as…

In democratic education, schools are places where democracy holds center stage, where students explore the aims and assumptions that underpin democracy, and where students develop a shared understanding of core values. Despite the democratic promise of schooling, however, schools often fail to prepare people to interrupt racism, classism, gender…

This article puts in conversation Georges Bataille's contributions to critical theory of fascism with contemporary affect theory, and outlines some implications for antifascist education. The purpose is to critically engage with the role of affectivity in fascism and antifascist education and unpack the risks entailed in antifascist education as a…