Read more
Education and Democratic Participation is an important and timely contribution to the emerging debate surrounding the value of educating citizens and communities in order to empower them to participate in democratic change. Responding to the effects of neo-liberal ideology on comprehensive education and public services, this book examines the purposes and conditions for reimagining an educated democracy.¿
Arguing that social divisions and cultural misrecognition have intensified to the point of crisis, Ranson explains that a just society must create opportunities for diverse, cohesive and tolerant neighbourhoods to flourish. In order to achieve this, education will need to reimagine learners as prospective citizens and as cooperative makers of the democratic communities in which they live and work. Showing that participation in public forums, councils and associations can provide a real means of enabling members of different communities to learn how to respect and value one another, this book provides persuasive arguments that a broader pedagogy of democracy is needed to confront the common dilemmas facing society.
This work is aimed at researchers, academics and postgraduates, particularly those lecturing and studying in the areas of education, the social sciences and politics. It will also appeal to professional and practitioner communities in school and college teaching, as well as in local authorities and related public services.
List of contents
1. Conjunctures: Dismantling Social Democratic Education 2. Beginning Anew for the Common Good 3. Remaking Democracy for Citizens 4. Participation as a Way of Life 5. A Pedagogy of Cooperative Learning 6. Volunteer Citizens, Voice and Participation 7. Towards Democratic Community Governance 8. Democratising Comprehensiveness: A Concluding Coda
About the author
Stewart Ranson (BSc. Econ, M.A., D. Soc. Sc.) is Professor Emeritus at the University of Warwick (2009). He was Professor of Education at Warwick (2005–2009) and an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Governance and Public Management in the Business School (2009–2012). Previously at the University of Birmingham, he was a researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Local Government Studies for fifteen years before being appointed as Professor of Education in the School of Education (1989–2004).
Summary
Education and Democratic Participation is an important and timely contribution to the emerging debate surrounding the value of educating citizens and communities in order to empower them to participate in democratic change. Responding to the effects of neo-liberal ideology on comprehensive education and public services, this book examines the purposes and conditions for reimagining an educated democracy.
Arguing that social divisions and cultural misrecognition have intensified to the point of crisis, Ranson explains that a just society must create opportunities for diverse, cohesive and tolerant neighbourhoods to flourish. In order to achieve this, education will need to reimagine learners as prospective citizens and as cooperative makers of the democratic communities in which they live and work. Showing that participation in public forums, councils and associations can provide a real means of enabling members of different communities to learn how to respect and value one another, this book provides persuasive arguments that a broader pedagogy of democracy is needed to confront the common dilemmas facing society.
This work is aimed at researchers, academics and postgraduates, particularly those lecturing and studying in the areas of education, the social sciences and politics. It will also appeal to professional and practitioner communities in school and college teaching, as well as in local authorities and related public services.
