The teaching of democracy: challenging the meaning of participation, discourse and dissent in the English school curriculum

Gibson, H (2009) 'The teaching of democracy: challenging the meaning of participation, discourse and dissent in the English school curriculum.' Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 8 (1). pp. 5-18. ISSN 2047-1734

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Abstract

The teaching of democracy featured strongly in the Crick Report, the theoretical forerunner of the legislative framework, and is today an important element underpinning the citizenship curriculum in English schools. This paper suggests, however, that democracy is a more complex and problematic term than the one assumed by these documents. It therefore approaches the term more critically with the aim of unearthing some of the assumptions by exploring in detail three of its central tenets, viz. democratic participation, debate or discussion and the link between law and justice. It concludes by suggesting that teachers, charged with energising and re-engaging students with the democratic process, are currently expected to work with a framework that is theoretically questionable and concerned more for the generation of social cohesion than education.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	School of Education
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.2304/csee.2009.8.1.5
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2013 13:19
Last Modified:	11 Oct 2022 14:07
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/508

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