Democratic Practices as Learning Opportunities

Education and learning for democracy take place in a wide variety of contexts worldwide. Traditionally, children are prepared to become responsible citizens in families and schools. In non-formal settings and in their lived experience, adults engage in democratic practices. Some people are active members of political parties or trade unions; others take responsibilities in associations of civil society. Still others engage in participatory practices in labor organizations. New practices and understandings of learning for democracy are often attempts to deal with transformations taking place in the contexts in which people operate. They experience the limits of representative democracy and try to enrich it with practices of direct democracy, thereby creating new learning opportunities for the participants involved. Theoretical aspects of learning in democratic practices are explored in Part I of this book. Part II describes examples of learning in political and social action, while Part III describes examples of democratic practices on the shop floor. Together the book delivers an introduction to the field of education for democracy for both social scientists and practitioners interested in ways to support the learning of democracy. Because of it comprehensive character, the book can be used also as a textbook in graduate and post-graduate courses