Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1941. / Bibliography: p. 132-144.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1941. / Bibliography: p. 132-144.

This thesis explores the significance of art in the relationship between democracy and education, challenging the apolitical perspective that has often resulted from the application of instrumentalist approaches in the field. Rather than viewing arts practices as a neutral means of teaching democracy, I have built on Biesta and Lawy's concept of 'citizenship-as-practice' (2006) to investigate how the arts are implicated in the ways young people learn democracy across a variety of contexts. Specifically, the objectives for my empirical research were to add to existing knowledge about young people's democratic learning in arts contexts, and to explore the significance of young people's more general engagement with art and culture for their democratic learning. The terms of the study were conceptualised via a theorisation of the relationships amongst democracy, education and art based on the work of Mouffe (2005; 2007), Rancière (1999; 2004; 2006; 2007) and Biesta (2006; 2010). The research was conducted as an interpretative study with two sets of young people recently engaged in the arts, using an adapted version of Charmaz' (2006) approach to grounded theory. The findings of the research indicate that the young people's engagement with art contributed to the their experiences of being able to act democratically or not in a number of contexts, and that it sometimes enabled them to make the imaginative leap necessary in order to learn from the experience of becoming democratically subject. The research suggests that the most fruitful way in which democratic education can 'make use' of the arts is not by teaching democratic citizenship, but rather by supporting young people as they reflect on and respond to their experiences in arts and other contexts, and by taking seriously the democratic potential of all aspects of their arts engagement.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-241)

People nowadays are often forced to accept the challenges of the modern society. That is the reason why a great attention has been paid to civic education in many countries of the world including Lithuania. As education system is considered to be one of the key instruments constructing civic society, schools nowadays aim to develop students’ responsibility, social activity and independence; form their value system, emphasize the importance of democratic relationships between teachers and students. The problem of democratic citizenship education is relevant in Lithuanian school and society for understanding democracy itself, determining practical activity of young people. Since 1988 democratic citizenship has been declared to be one of the most important aims of the reformed Lithuanian school. at the beginning of the reform civic education integration program into curriculum was created, however it was agreed that the aspects of democracy education have to embrace the whole school life. Having spent long years in Soviet occupation and having long experience of Soviet education Lithuanian school has inevitably faced certain difficulties creating its own democracy-based education. USA, the country in possession of long civic education experience has been chosen as a model country. During 15 years of independence in cooperation with American civic education experts Lithuanian teachers have made visible changes in Lithuanian education system. This work aims to analyze and... [to full text]

Swedish schools are responsible for a democracy-mission, to educate democratic citizens. School elections can thus be a tool where the students can practice an important democratic act, namely to vote. This may seem unproblematic, but the question is whether there is always a collaboration between them? The present study aims to investigate the teachers´assessment of school elections in relation to the school´s democracy mission, how the school election has been made concrete in the teaching and what opportunities and challenges it entails. The purpose is examined in relation to the theoretical framework of the study, consisting Linde´s curriculum theory and Reinhardt´s democracy competencies. The theories are used to explore the integration of democracy education and the work of school election in the teaching of civics. The study is based on interviews with seven teachers in civics from three different upper secondary schools. The result shows a twofold view among the teachers, which creates a difference between theory and practice regarding school election and democracy education. Furthermore, it appears that school elections include opportunities to promote student´s democratic competencies, while different challenges can inhibit such a development. However, the result also points out that the existence of different challenges can be a prerequisite for the students to have a chance to develop their skills in democracy at all.

This study examines the practical application of Oxford Idealism to education reform and the adult education movement. According to Idealist philosophy, enlightened and active citizenship was the cornerstone of a participatory democracy. This thesis thus explores how Oxford Idealists used the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) to pursue the aim of cultivating good citizenship and forming a common purpose for the future society they wished to see emerging. The WEA, founded in 1903, embodied the Idealist vision by promoting its two-fold practices: first, it organised university tutorial classes to foster mutual learning and fellowship between intellectuals and workers; second, it campaigned for a state-funded 'educational highway', from nursery to university, so that every citizen would have the opportunity to receive the kind of liberal education which had hitherto been limited to upper and middle classes. By exploring the development of the dual initiative, this thesis examines the achievement and limitations of the Idealist project. In particular, it investigates whether and how this pursuit, in the long run, contributed to the rise of professionalism, a trend which has been ascribed to the efforts of Idealists but which in many ways contradicted the ideal of participatory democracy. In so doing, this thesis explains why the influence of Oxford Idealism-this highly moralistic philosophy which inspired a generation of intellectuals and politicians and lent a distinctive flavour to British public policy at the beginning of the twentieth century-gradually ebbed in the public domain.

We study empirically the role of education, age structure and other socioeconomic factors as a determinant of the transition to stable democratic regimes. Our findings suggest that educational improvements (in particular in primary education) and policies towards reducing inequalities in educational attainment play a particularly important role as a catalyst of sustainable democratization processes. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1935. / Vita. Published also without thesis note. "Selected bibliography": p. [215]-223. "Notes": p. [225]-245.

A pedagogia de John Dewey (1859-1952) é referência para compreender as alterações no pensamento e na prática do campo educacional do século XX. Suas propostas questionam o modelo escolar tradicional predominante na época, realocando a criança para o centro do processo pedagógico. Apesar de ilustre por suas contribuições à Educação, Dewey assegura seu lugar nas discussões filosóficas tanto pela amplitude temática de seu pensamento quanto pela riqueza analítica de suas ideias. Tido como um dos pioneiros do pragmatismo (ao lado de William James e C. S. Pierce), o filósofo se debruça sobre as mais prementes questões políticas e sociais de seu tempo: o avanço desenfreado do capitalismo lança uma série de novos desafios ao homem, ao mesmo tempo em que ascendem totalitarismos de esquerda e direita na Europa e na Rússia. O horizonte da emancipação humana, representado pela democracia, está sob ameaça de diferentes modos. Essa importante pauta recebe o tratamento de Dewey em escritos que transcendem as fronteiras pedagógicas. Entendemos que a pedagogia de John Dewey é melhor compreendida quando matizada pela concepção de sociedade democrática presente nessas reflexões filosóficas mais amplas. Com o intuito de delinear essa concepção, este trabalho partiu da leitura analítica de Velho e novo individualismo e Liberdade e Cultura. A primeira trata dos descompassos entre indivíduo e sociedade, acentuados diante da lógica capitalista de prevalência do interesse particular sobre o comum. A democracia aparece como forma de organização social que possibilita a harmonia desses lados, zelando tanto pela garantia do desenvolvimento do indivíduo quanto pela busca dos fins sociais. Já o segundo texto afirma que liberdade e democracia devem ser tomadas como aposta moral e não como fins naturalmente prezados pelo homem. A cultura, em interação com a natureza humana, é elemento formador de hábitos, disposições e valores. Com isso, Dewey coloca a manutenção e expansão dos ideais democráticos em mãos humanas enquanto missão que precisa ser deliberadamente empreendida. Uma sociedade livre exige uma cultura livre o que, por sua vez, só se dá pela existência de instituições sociais igualmente libertárias. Em função dessas descobertas, alguns dos principais pontos de sua reflexão pedagógica são repensados a partir de Meu credo pedagógico e Democracia e Educação. Em primeiro lugar, destacamos o papel da educação, enquanto processo social na formação da cultura da sociedade. Se a democracia é uma escolha, a educação pode beneficiar ou dificultar sua construção de acordo com o tipo de cultura que promove. Assim, a preocupação com o interesse da criança diante da matéria e da atividade escolar assume nova tonalidade, pois é expressão de sua preocupação tanto com a preservação da dimensão individual na sociedade massificada, quanto pelo repúdio a práticas antidemocráticas geradoras de sujeitos passivos e acostumados a tarefas não reflexivas. Por outro lado, cabe à escola levar o aluno a compreender-se como ser social, significando seu papel e suas ações em função dos fins da comunidade. Para Dewey, a centralidade do método pedagógico se dá porque meios são tão importantes quanto fins. A democracia não pode ser alcançada senão por meios democráticos: a escola, enquanto instituição social, não pode se furtar desse imperativo. / John Deweys (1859-1952) pedagogy is a key to comprehend changes in educational thought and practice throughout the 20th century. His propositions call in question the predominant traditional school model, shifting the child back to the center of the pedagogical process. Though well known for his contribution on Education, Dewey is present in philosophical discussions due to his wide thematic scope as well as for the analytical power of his ideas. Regarded as one of the pioneering American pragmatist, the philosopher laid effort on the most urgent political and social matters of his time: the ungoverned advance of capitalism puts at stake new challenges to mankind, as left and right-wing totalitarian systems emerge in Europe and Russia. Human emancipation, represented by democracy, is threatened in different ways. Dewey tackles this important issue in works that transcend the pedagogical field. The authors pedagogy seems to be better comprehended when contextualized by his concept of democratic society, stated in broad philosophical reflections. This dissertation clears out this conception through analytical readings of Individualism, Old and New and Freedom and Culture. The former brings out the differences between individuals and society, intensified by the prevalence of private interests over common well-being. Democracy emerges as a form of social organization which makes it possible to achieve balance between those two sides, guaranteeing both individual development and the search for social aims. The latter asserts that liberty and democracy shall be understood as moral choice, instead of as mens natural longing. Thus, Dewey understands the maintenance and expansion of democratic ideals as deliberately undertaken by human hands. A free society requires a free culture that, in its turn, can only exist through free social institutions. Having in mind these findings, some of his main pedagogical ideas from My Pedagogic Creed and Democracy and Education were revisited in this research. Firstly, the role of education is pointed out, as a social process in the formation of culture. If democracy is actually a choice, education can favor or hinder its construction according to the kind of culture it promotes. Hence, the concern for childrens interest on academic content and activities rises new implications, for it reveals an attempt to preserve the individual dimension in mass society, as well as to deny non-democratic procedures that form passive human beings, accustomed to non-reflexive tasks. On the other hand, it is the schools duty to help students understand themselves as social beings, making sense of their roles and actions on account of communal purposes. Dewey believed that pedagogical methods were important because means are as relevant as its ends. Democracy can only be reached through democratic means: school, as a social institution, cannot avoid such principle.