Putting Action (back) into Active Citizenship and Praxis (back) into Practice – the Doing Democracy Research Project in Australia Dr David Zyngier Education Faculty Monash University Victoria Australia
Feb 24, 2016
Putting Action (back) into Active Citizenship and Praxis (back) into Practice – the Doing Democracy Research Project in Australia
Dr David Zyngier Education Faculty Monash University Victoria Australia
Outline
• Background to a broader study of the understandings of democracy by Pre-service Teachers, Teacher Education Academics, and In-service Teachers
• review the New Citizens and Civics Education (CCE) in Australia
• Use framework of:– Barber’s Strong Democracy (Barber, 2004), – Westheimer and Kahne (2003) Kinds of Good
Citizens - responsible, participatory and justice oriented
– Gandin and Apple (2002) Thin & Thick Democracy
Doing Democracy: Global Doing Democracy Research Projectpart of a comparative and contrasting study of education students, teachers and their educators in Australia, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe The research explores three themes:
1. the apparent predisposition among teachers is to understand democracy and politics in a thin way;
2. the potential for teachers to do thick democracy in education; and
3. teachers understanding of the importance of power and difference in relation to democracy. The focus of this research study is how education supports, cultivates and engages in/with democracy.
thin as opposed to thick democracy
Conceptualize the visible tension between:• the superficial features often associated with
teaching about democracy that focus on civics and citizenship
• fundamental scaffolding which, permits people to appropriate the deeper meaning of the term democracy (Gandin & Apple, 2002)
• students know that civic engagement is not an individual, private endeavour.
A Critical Citizenship?• various Australian academic research suggests that the CCE Project
only requires some augmentation to make it critical– sustainability – Globalisation
• ‘further work is required to promote depth and breadth’ (Dejaeghere & Tudball, 2007, p. 41)
• ‘investigation of and participation in activities that support sustainable practices, social justice and underpin the future well being of societies from a local to a global level’ (Dejaeghere & Tudball, 2007, p. 44)
• The goal of critical citizenship is to provide the conditions for collective social change’ (Dejaeghere & Tudball, 2007, p. 49)
• ‘primary goal of CE is to prepare the next generation of citizens for enlightened political engagement’ (Print and Coleman, 2003, p. 130
• new CCE should ‘generate cooperation, networking, trust and cohesiveness’ (Print & Coleman, 2003, p. 136) that is compliance and homogeneity in Australian schools )
Thin democratic discourses
• activities such as students contributing food to a food drive or in a more active participatory manner organising a food drive for the poor. (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004)
Thick democracy discourses
• Explore why people are hungry and act to solve its root causes (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004)
What do Pre-service Teachers, Teachers & Education Academics think about Democracy?
• Pre-service Teachers N= 55• Teachers N=65• Education Academics=40
Is Australia a Democratic society?
AcademicsPre-service teachers Teachers
Not very Somewhat Very
Is the USA Democratic?
AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers
Not very Somewhat Very
AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers
Since the Bali Bombing is Australia a more or less democratic country?
Much less Somewhat Much more
Are elections important to Democracy?
AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers
Not very Somewhat Very
AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers
Do you feel that you are actively engaged in democracy?
Not at all Somewhat Very active
AcademicsTeachersPre-service teachers
Should teachers strive to inculcate a sense of democracy in students?
Not at all SomewhatMost
Definitely
What a thick democracy might look like in school education• Discussion …