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The ‘Doing Democracy’ Project: An Overview of Scope & Findings. Dr David Zyngier Monash University . Dr Marc Pruyn Monash University . Dr Paul R. Carr Lakehead University. ‘Doing Democracy’: Today’s seminar. Introduction A brief overview History of the Project
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The ‘Doing Democracy’ Project:An Overview of Scope & Findings Dr David Zyngier Monash University Dr Marc Pruyn Monash University Dr Paul R. Carr Lakehead University
‘Doing Democracy’: Today’s seminar • Introduction • A brief overview • History of the Project • A chat with Dr Paul Carr • Methodology • The URL & global partners • The survey & participants • The literature • Discourses of ‘democracy’ • Findings • Australian ‘democracy’ • US ‘democracy’ • Democracy & the classroom • Next steps • Expansion of the Project
Intro: The Doing Democracy Global Doing Research Project A comparative and contrasting study of education students, teachers and their educators in Australia, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. The research explores three themes: • Predisposition among teachers is to understand democracy and politics in a thin way • Potential for teachers to do thick democracy in education • Teachers understanding of the importance of power and difference in relation to democracy The focus of this research study is how education supports, cultivates and engages in/with democracy.
What do Pre-service Teachers, Teachers & Education Academics think about Democracy? • Over 2000 respondents • Australia, Malaysia, Canada, US, Argentina, Peru; so far... • Future research results from Bosnia, Romania, Finland, Turkey, Greece, South Africa, Israel/Palestine, Pakistan ...
Theoretical Framework • Barber’s Strong Democracy (Barber, 2004), • Westheimer and Kahne (2003) Kinds of Good Citizens - responsible, participatory and justice oriented • Gandin and Apple (2002) Thin & Thick Democracy • Carr (2010) Does your vote count? Critical pedagogy and democracy
Should teachers strive to promote a sense of democracy in students?
Continuum of Democracy: Based on ideas from Nelson and Guerra (2007) and Kahne and Westheimer (2003) and Westheimer and Kahne (2004).
Thin democratic discourses • Contributing food to a food drive • Organising a food drive
Thick democratic discourses • Explore why people are hungry and act to make decisions about and solve its root causes (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004)
Pre-service teachers Academics Teachers Is Australia a democratic society?
Is Australia a Democratic society? Teachers: We are free to vote & speak out on issues that concern us; people have the right to vote, freedom of speech, a voice, ability to sit in parliament, council meetings... Academics: [We have] elected government, where participation does not depend on wealth; some groups of society are not treated equally; groups of Australian society that are invisible or discriminated against through policy & the attitudes; wealthy have disproportionate power... Students: The government listens to what the majority of people want; minority will always be dissatisfied; minority hold the power & the voice in major decisions; people don't have full freedom because of economic or social status especially the Indigenous
Teachers Academics Pre-service teachers Is the US Democratic?
Is USA a Democratic society? Students: many people live in violence & poverty; wealth is poorly distributed; imbalances of power seem more pronounced in the US; great inconsistencies in approach to human rights; have so little sense of the value of their voice in the nation; they are not motivated to vote... Teachers: People elect those in power - they have a elections; they espouse themselves to be very democratic; they offer less support to unemployed; low income earners & do not provide universal health support... Academics: too much accumulation of power in the hands of one person; democracy has gone wrong; imbalance of power which distorts the actual outcomes of elections and decisions; large sections of society seriously disadvantaged & invisible; dictators were given red carpets...
Should teachers strive to promote a sense of democracy in students? Academics Pre-service teachers Teachers
Should teachers strive to inculcate a sense of democracy in students? Academics: It is the best gift I can give the students I teach; an essential role of all university teachers; teachers are in a perfect position to inculcate democratic values in students, despite being dictated to by less democratic forces; teachers have a responsibility to be ‘cultural connoisseurs’ & critics & should be prepared to facilitate the continuity of those traditions... Teachers: I adopt a democratic approach; it's important to support students in developing an understanding of how country is run, how decisions are made; it is very important for students to understand that their opinions count; is imperative that teachers educate students about democracy, not only the words & voting system, but in educating them to be concerned, involved & contributing citizens of our country... Students: Should feel empowered to take their say & make a difference; teachers are capable of manufacturing or nurturing any value in students; it is very important for the students to feel they are a part of a democratic classroom; students should feel that they have a voice that will be heard...
Next steps: Expansion of the project ‘Doing Democracy’
Expansion... • Team linguistic support... • English • French • Spanish • Hebrew • Urdu • Extending more into... • The Americas • Asia • Africa • Oceania • Europe • Middle East • Indigenous communities • Funding... • Monash • Foundation • ARC linkage • Canadian equivalents
1) How do we understand the perceptions, experiences and perspectives of democracy and education? 2) What would a thick democracy look like in school education system for you and your students? 3) What are the implications of a thick democracy in schools? Discussion
Questions? • Comments? • Suggestions? Contact David: david.zyngier@monash.edu
