Democratic deliberations in the Finnish elementary classroom: The dilemmas of deliberations and the teacher’s role in an action research project

Abstract

Finnish youth are found to be, despite their broad knowledge, uninterested in politics and in societal participation. As a remedy, international studies suggest enabling democratic experiences in schools. This article discusses an action research project aimed at developing deliberation-based democratic practice in an elementary classroom. Results suggest that the formal deliberative-democratic practice opens up a way for pupils to productively express themselves, challenge the prevailing structures, make sense of social reality and, thus, practise skills and motivations needed in democratic citizenship. However, the teacher is argued to be in constant struggle between deliberative-democratic stance and control orientation. This tension exists in the teacher's actions and thinking and in his reflections about the contrast between the classroom practice and the overall school ethos. Therefore, this article suggests using the understanding of this tension in scrutinizing projects aiming at pupil participation and involvement.

Empirical Evidence on the Relationship between Democratic Classroom and Social Skills Development of Students

“…Most specifically, it is a place which is characterized by students who come from different social-economic backgrounds, cultures and geographical locations (Bryan & Hayes, 2010). This diversity creates an ample opportunity for them to share their own experiences as well as get knowledge about other different cultures, ways of life and people (Tammi, 2013).…”

Children's Democratic Experiences in a Collective Writing Process – Analysing Classroom Interaction in Terms of Deliberation

“…From this I draw the conclusion that the interaction analysed contains deliberative qualities, especially in relation to criteria a, b and c, and therefore, there is a substantial potential for developing the practice even further in a deliberative direction, in which suggestions could be supported more frequently by arguments. In this context, it is also important to remember that the teacher, in this study, was not asked to organise her teaching in a deliberative form, as the teachers in the earlier mentioned studies on designed deliberative communication in classrooms (Forsberg, 2011;Thyberg, 2012;Andersson, 2012;Tammi, 2013). Naturally, if the teacher in this study had been instructed to ask for the children's arguments along with their suggestions, the result might have been different.…”

“…However, the potential of democratic learning and experiences in the studied literacy practices have not been explicitly investigated. The earlier mentioned empirical studies of deliberation have not studied everyday activities in school, as it has been pointed out earlier, but designed deliberative situations in classrooms (Forsberg, 2011;Thyberg, 2012;Andersson, 2012;Tammi, 2013), while this study can shed light on the question of whether everyday interaction in school can be understood as comprising deliberative qualities.…”

“…As mentioned above, only a few empirical studies of deliberative communication have been conducted in the Nordic context (Forsberg, 2011;Thyberg, 2012;Andersson, 2012;Tammi, 2013). These four studies evaluate a teaching situation designed or arranged to be deliberative.…”

“…Since then, a handful of empirical studies on deliberative communication in schools in the Nordic context have been carried out (Forsberg, 2011;Thyberg, 2012;Andersson, 2012;Tammi, 2013; these studies are described in greater detail below). None of these studies, however, were conducted in primary schools among younger children; the educational setting in focus in this study.…”