Full Description
With the growth of terrorism, instability in the EU following recession, and the acceleration of support for right-wing political parties in Europe, discussions on the nature of democracy and democratic citizenship have never been more important. Exploring the relationship between democratic values, classroom practices and neo-liberalist ideology in England and in Finland, Educating for Democracy argues that it is the role of governments and the education systems they support to create teachers and students who can voice critically appraised judgements to guide their citizenship.
With chapters co-written by English and Finnish authors, this book analyses the history and current state of education systems in England and Finland, with reference to other European countries, in order to establish whether they are effective in creating democratically-minded citizens. Recent years have seen decreasing control of educator professionalism as governments have become more concerned about economic growth, and in some cases, survival. The contributors to this volume question whether educators are becoming less effectual as a result, exploring the idea that democracy is a dying concept, and asking whether educators are now simply creating cogs for the neo-liberalistic/capitalist machine.
This book will be essential reading for academics and researchers in the fields of teacher education, education studies and comparative education. It will also be of great interest to those concerned with issues surrounding citizenship, democracy and the role of the government in education.
Contents
1. Education for democracy in England and Finland: insights for consideration beyond the twonations 2. Living between two educational systems 3. The role of the teacher in educating for democracy 4. Democracy, classroom practices and pre-service teachers' conceptions of excellence 5. Searching the roots of democracy: collaborative intervention in teacher education 6. Democracy and the Curriculum: English and Finnish Perspectives 7. Power, democracy and progressive schools 8. Perspectives on accountability in education: local democracy versus national regulation 9. Inclusion and democracy in England and Finland 10. Educational research for democracy 11. Fighting against the flow in theorising education 12. Towards the future.
