Session Information
99 ERC SES 08 D, Participation in Education
Paper Session
Contribution
In today's world, pervasive alienation and detachment from democratic processes underscore the urgency of addressing political challenges, particularly the rise of populist rhetoric (Ruitenberg, 2009; Tryggvason, 2018). The potential decline in civic engagement and trust in democracy among students is linked to their limited exposure to lived democracy, often absent in decision-making processes at school; for instance, over 70% of Lithuanian students don’t believe that their voice can make a difference in decision-making (NVO Švietimo tinklas, 2017). This disillusionment often leads students to relinquish decision-making to authorities and detachment from institutions.
Despite the endorsement of children's participation by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, translating this ideal into practice poses challenges. Despite the school's routine featuring non-formal civic education situations related to conflicts, student voices, and school governance, negative attitudes persist (Lo, 2017). Mere adoption of a democratic formal system is insufficient; authentic democratic institutions flourish when rooted in a democratic culture with values, attitudes, and practices (Council of Europe, 2016). Consistently upholding these values within the school community is vital for fortifying democracy, embracing pluralism, and transcending mere imitation (Thornberg; 2009). This significantly shapes how students develop democratic competence, particularly as the younger generation, disillusioned with traditional political processes, seeks alternative ways to engage in and reshape democracy (Thomas & Percy-Smith, 2023).
Their evolving approach to school participation may align with agonistic democracy, as proposed by Chantal Mouffe. Arising as a reaction to global polarization and in contrast to deliberative democracy, agonistic democracy sees conflict not as a hazard but as a driving force for democracy (Mouffe, 2000, 2013). Shifting attitudes toward conflict and viewing them as opportunities for educating democratic citizenship in schools could bring transformative changes in student participation and learning processes (Lo, 2017; Ruitenberg, 2009). Understanding how students learn about democracy and develop attitudes toward democratic values in today's world requires exploring pupil participation from an agonistic perspective, with an emphasis on the positive role of conflict to foster a dynamic and participatory school environment.
Within the historical context of Lithuania, where democratic citizenship education emerged three decades ago following the restoration of independence, marking a departure from almost half a century of totalitarian rule, there exists a noticeable gap in the study of student participation in daily school life. Consequently, this research aims to address this gap by evaluating students' current participation in daily school life and, through participatory action research, identifying and exploring ways to instigate change, potentially by implementing approaches rooted in agonistic democracy.
Research questions:
- How do students express their participation in daily school life, and in what contexts and settings does this manifestation occur? What types of students actively engage in these participatory experiences?
- How do various stakeholders perceive agonistic participation in relation to fostering democratic education? What insights do students gain from this participation, and how do they reflect on their learning experiences?
- How do teachers either enhance or impede the seamless integration of agonistic perspectives into students' democratic learning experiences, and what measures could be implemented to improve this integration?
Method
Ethnographic research strategy and Participatory Action Research (PAR) are considered to be chosen for this project. The first one, ethnography, is commonly employed to illuminate cultural groups and their shared patterns in behavior, beliefs, and language, as well as dynamics like power, resistance, and dominance (Creswell, 2007). For this study, ethnography is selected to offer a detailed, in-depth description of students' daily lives and activities, focusing on their involvement in decision-making processes within the school, their natural environment. Conducting ethnography requires the researcher to fully immerse in the daily lives of the people to establish trust, aiming to transition from an outsider to an insider and deeply comprehend the community's perspectives and practices. Consequently, the data gathering period for this research, focusing on pupils aged 11-15 from two schools, will span a minimum of 5 months. This age group was chosen given the fact that at the secondary school, the aim is to provide students with a foundation in civic education, but it is mostly young people (i.e., 14 years and above) or 8th graders who are studied. In ethnographic research, diverse methods are utilized for data collection. In this instance, triangulation is pursued through participant observation, interviews, and the incorporation of photovoice. This approach seeks to engage teenagers in a dialogue about their school participation, offering them an alternative means to express their voices. Information will be documented through field notes, interviews, and observational protocols, with coding and thematic analysis applied for data interpretation. While ethnographic research initially integrates participatory approaches, aiming to move beyond mere description to enact change, it will be followed by Participatory Action Research (PAR). PAR, a transformative methodology, actively engages educators, students, and stakeholders collaboratively, transcending traditional research paradigms and seeks democratization of the research process itself (Udvarhelyi, 2020). This approach seamlessly aligns with the research's objectives. Through iterative cycles of planning, action, reflection, and adjustment, PAR cultivates a dynamic learning environment, effectively addressing intricate educational challenges like student participation and democratic learning experiences. By integrating varied voices (in this case, emphasis on the students’ voices) and fostering a sense of ownership, PAR ensures research outcomes are pertinent, practical, and genuinely reflective of the actual needs within the educational community.
Expected Outcomes
The landscape of student participation in daily school life in Lithuania has been largely overlooked, as civic engagement assessments predominantly focus on broader societal aspects like involvement in elections and public organizations rather than within the school community. Despite the integration of democratic education principles in elementary and secondary schools, existing research on civic engagement primarily centers around older adolescents (14 years old and above). Furthermore, the significance of this study transcends the boundaries of education to encompass wider societal challenges, including global issues like climate change, migration, technological crises, and ongoing wars that pose significant threats to democratic principles. Beyond merely providing a profound understanding of the state of democratic education in Lithuania, this research aims to offer valuable recommendations for decision-makers and practitioners. Moreover, the exploration of agonistic democracy in education worldwide has predominantly taken a theoretical rather than empirical approach (Sant, 2019; Sant et al., 2021). This study seeks to fill this gap by providing empirical insights, underscoring the potential global relevance of its findings. Through a nuanced examination of student participation and the potential application of agonistic democracy through PAR, the research aspires not only to enrich the understanding of democratic education in Lithuania but also to contribute actionable insights for fostering democratic principles in educational systems globally.
References
Council of Europe (2016). Competences for Democratic Culture: Living Together as Equals in Culturally Diverse Democratic Societies. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Creswell, J. W. (2007). Inquiry and Research Design. Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage publications. NVO švietimo tinklas (2017). Pilietiškumo studija. Lo, J. C. (2017). Empowering Young People through Conflict and Conciliation: Attending to the Political and Agonism in Democratic Education. 25. Mouffe, C. (2000). The Democratic Paradox. Verso. Mouffe, C. (2013). Agonistics: Thinking The World Politically (1st edition). Verso. https://monoskop.org/images/3/31/Mouffe_Chantal_Agonistics_Thinking_the_World_Politically_2013.pdf Ruitenberg, C. W. (2009). Educating Political Adversaries: Chantal Mouffe and Radical Democratic Citizenship Education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 28(3), 269–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-008-9122-2 Sant, E. (2019). Democratic Education: A Theoretical Review (2006–2017). Review of Educational Research, 89(5), 655–696. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319862493 Sant, E., McDonnell, J., Pashby, K., & Menendez Alvarez-Hevia, D. (2021). Pedagogies of agonistic democracy and citizenship education. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 16(3), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197920962373 Thomas, N. P., & Percy-Smith, B. (2023). Introduction: The shifting landscape of children and young people’s participation: looking forward, looking back. In A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation (2nd ed.). Routledge. Thornberg, R. (2009). School democratic meetings: pupil control discourse in disguise. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 924-932 Tryggvason, Á. (2018). Democratic Education and Agonism: Exploring the Critique from Deliberative Theory. Democracy & Education, 26(1), 1–9. Udvarhelyi, É. T. (2020). Participatory action research as political education. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 17(1), 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767333.2020.1712839
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