The global context of the crisis of democracy has been recorded in recent reports by various international organizations (IDEA, 2024; 2025, Nord et al., 2025). Thus, the 2025 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) report notes that the world has fewer democracies than autocracies for the first time in more than 20 years, with three out of four people living under authoritarian rule. Furthermore, it is reported that current average democratic levels are on par with those of 1985, with Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia being the most affected by a “wave of autocratization,” although there is also democratic weakening in Latin America, Western Europe, and North America. Likewise, the decline in freedom of expression in 44 countries during 2024 (Nord et al., 2025) is alarming, which is validated by the 2025 IDEA report that identifies freedom of the press and expression as the most affected rights in at least 25% of the countries participating in the study (IDEA, 2025).

            Faced with this landscape of democratic uncertainty, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed guidelines and recommendations for school communities to strengthen democratic and civic education (UNESCO, 2019). Specifically, one of the focuses is the implementation of education for global citizenship, within the framework of the 2030 agenda, which promotes a culture of democracy, human rights, peace, and non-violence (UNESCO, 2023). Thus, the main aim is for students to value human dignity, cooperation, and dialogue, with a focus on developing knowledge, skills, and attitudes that foster tolerance, empathy, and respect for the diversity of cultures and opinions. Achieving this goal requires teachers who are strongly committed to the exercise of democracy and citizenship education.

Likewise, various studies have highlighted the importance of teachers' beliefs regarding teaching and learning processes, as well as pedagogical and didactic decision-making (Estévez-Nenninger et al., 2014). In this sense, what teachers believe and mean has a direct impact on their daily practices and, as a correlate, on student learning (Trigwell & Prosser, 1991). Similarly, what teachers do—or teach—would be a direct consequence of what they actually think. This is where the importance of investigating the ideas and beliefs that teachers express about democracy lies: it allows us to better understand the practices and possibilities of approaching democratic education in schools in line with the urgency represented by the current context of democratic fragility.

This presentation is based on the initial results of doctoral research that seeks to understand the conceptions of democracy and democratic education expressed by teachers of various subjects and school levels in two regions of Chile. On this occasion, the findings to be presented and discussed relate to the conceptions of democracy held by the participating teachers, specifically their definitions, characteristics, and diagnosis in the context of democratic fragility. Some preliminary results show that teachers conceive of democracy from political perspectives linked to the exercise of participation and choice in various areas of social life, with an emphasis on decision-making. Likewise, the diagnosis of a democratic crisis linked to hate speech on social media, disappointment, and mistrust of society due to political corruption, among other issues, is highlighted.

The doctoral research is a qualitative study with convenience sampling and use of the phenomenographic method (Marton, 1994). The call for participation was open, through digital platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook) and email, to primary or secondary school teachers working in public or private schools in the Metropolitan Region (capital city) or Los Ríos Region (southern city), who meet at least one of the following criteria: 1. Work as a primary school teacher in the subjects of History and Social Sciences, Language, and/or Science. 2. Teach secondary education in the subjects of History and Social Sciences, Philosophy, Citizenship Education, Language, Science, or Science for Citizenship. 3. Be in charge of the school's citizenship education plan (Law 20.911). The first phase involved seven focus groups: four in the Metropolitan Region (capital city) and three in Los Ríos Region (southern city). In addition, three of these sessions were held in rural areas and four in urban areas, with five focus groups held in person and two held virtually (Zoom platform). A total of 36 teachers (17 men and 19 women) from eight different school subjects participated. The purpose of this phase was to understand and analyze teachers' conceptions of democracy and democratic education. The initial results to be shared in this presentation correspond to this first phase of research. Thus, based on the identification of critical or high-interest cases (Trigwell, 2000) from the previous phase, a second phase was implemented with 22 in-depth interviews, 11 in each region. The purpose of this phase was to describe experiences narrated by the interviewed teachers that were relevant to the arise and development of their conceptions of democracy and democratic education. All interviews were conducted virtually (Zoom platform). Finally, in the third stage (2026), classroom observations will be conducted on four cases from the previous participants, corresponding to two cases in each region. The purpose of this third phase is to analyze classroom practices related to democratic education among participating teachers, focusing on curricular and didactic elements and pedagogical interactions. For this research, we will use Rotar's (2024) phenomenographic analysis model, which proposes a framework that articulates stages of data analysis in conjunction with steps of practical reflection, allowing for the explicitation of the researcher's subjectivity in the process of producing and interpreting information.

This paper seeks to report on the initial results of the first phase of doctoral research related to the analysis of Chilean teachers' conceptions of democracy, which will be analyzed and discussed through the perspectives of democracy and democratic education of Biesta (2006; 2011) and Sant (2019), as well as to highlight emerging results. This research provides insight into teachers' conceptions of democracy, which is directly related to the possibilities and opportunities for democratic education that can be developed in school settings. Furthermore, considering that this is a line of inquiry that is underdeveloped (Menéndez et al., 2023) but of great interest in recent times (Belavi et al., 2021), the contribution of the results of this study lies in contributing to an emerging and necessary field of research in a context of democratic fragility. Likewise, this study seeks to contribute to the exercise of thinking about and designing teacher training in which democracy is not only a subject of disciplinary teaching but also a disposition, willingness, and action linked to the democratic convictions of teachers (Redón et al., 2021) necessary to enable democratic education. Finally, at a time when democracy is being questioned and threatened by denialist and extremist sectors that advocate hate speech (Hickey et al., 2025; IDEA, 2024; 2025), schools and teachers must take a stand for democratic education. It is therefore important to investigate the conceptions that teachers construct around democracy, as they are key players in building a more respectful, fair, and egalitarian society from within schools themselves.

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