Seeking Democracy Inside, and Outside, of Education: Re-Conceptualizing Perceptions and Experiences Related to Democracy and Education

Overview & Synopsis

This conceptual article underscores the importance of critical engagement in and through education with a view to enhancing education for democracy (EfD). As a centerpiece to illustrating this connection, we refer to our research project, which engages international actors through an analysis of the perceptions, experiences and perspectives of education students, educators and others in relation to EfD. The article presents the "Thick-Thin Spectrum of EfD" and a "Spectrum for Critical Engagement for EfD" to re(present) the problematic of political engagement and literacy on the part of teachereducation students. The findings of our study highlight a necessity for education to be connected and linked to deliberative and participatory democracy in a critical manner in order to create positive, progressive, and transformative educational opportunities, especially in relation to inequitable power relations and social justice. In sum, we seek to re(conceptualize) the meaning of democracy within, and for, education while making the linkage with the lived experience of future educators and others involved in formal education.