Reconstructing/Reimagining Democratic Education: From Context to Theory to Practice

Democratic Education: A Theoretical Review (2006–2017)

“…Participation in class, school, and youth councils is often emphasized as a priority (Engel, 2008;McCowan, 2010). Worldwide and across all educational stages, students are also encouraged to participate in other activities such as curriculum codevelopment (Biesta, 2007), student unions (Rautiainen & Räihä, 2012), and student media (Helfenbein & Shudak, 2009). Opportunities also need to be created for students to engage in activities outside institutions such as service learning, community learning (Kahne et al, 2016;B.…”

Conflicting Conceptions of the Purposes of Schooling in a Democracy

“…Conceptions of democracy and the theories and practices of education in a democracy are often expressed and enacted in complimentary and contradictory ways. Helfenbein and Shudak (2009) report that the relationship "between education and democracy, not set in any stone beyond individuals' tenuous historical memory, finds itself under attack" (p. 9). Additionally, Wotherspoon and Schissel (2001) contend that historically, "factors like conformity, competition, knowledge transmission, and responsiveness to economic mandates coexist with commitments to democratic principles of diversity, inclusiveness, innovation, and personal development" (p. 322).…”

Practicing Democracy in the NCLB Elementary Classroom

“…The beginning of our rich tradition of connecting education to democratic self rule is attributed by Helfenbein and Shudak (2009)…”

“…Dewey referred to this as "inward protection" from being purposely misled or manipulated by those seeking power (Helfenbein & Shudak, 2009). Dewey's (1915) progressive education ideas were in contrast to what had been the traditional method of teaching, that is, authoritarian and focused on delivering knowledge.…”

“…Like Dewey's writings on inward protection, Paulo Freire also wrote in 1973 about the phenomenon of abuse of power whereby people allow someone else to take over their critically evaluative faculties (Helfenbein & Shudak, 2009). In response to this concern he and others developed critical pedagogies aimed at linking theory to practice.…”