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Democracy Health of Educational Institutions and Perspectives of Youth on Democracy and Education in Digital Societies – Insights from 10 EU Countries

Tue, March 25, 4:30 to 5:45pm, Palmer House, Floor: 7th Floor, Clark 3

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Symposium offers insights into the methodological design and empirical results of a Horizon Europe research and innovation project Critical ChangeLab (Democracy Meets Arts: Critical Change Labs for Building Democratic Cultures through Creative and Narrative Practices). Critical ChangeLab addresses democratic erosion trends by strengthening youth participation in European societies especially through educational contexts. The project is carried out by 10 partner institutions from 10 EU countries:

University of Oulu – Finland (project leader)
Institute for Social Research in Zagreb – Croatia (research leader)
Trinity College Dublin - Ireland
University of Barcelona - Spain
Ars Electronica - Austria
European Alternatives - France
Kersnikova Institute - Slovenia
LATRA - Greece
Tactical Tech - Germany
WAAG – Netherlands

Critical ChangeLab examines the current state of democracy in learning environments across Europe, generating a robust evidence base for the design of a participatory democratic curriculum. At the Critical ChangeLabs, diverse actors from formal and non-formal education and civic organisations work together with youth to rethink European democracy in a digital age and envision futures that are justice-oriented in the nexus of human-human, human-nature and human-technology interactions.
One of the projects’ central elements is its comprehensive comparative research phase which combines large scale quantitative and in-depth qualitative research on education, democracy and youth.
The quantitative research segments’ aims were twofold:
• To advance knowledge on the current state of democratic culture in formal and non-formal learning environments within Europe.
• To assess democratic practices in various learning environments, improving institutions’ and organisations’ capacity for self-assessing and identifying opportunities for promoting democracy values.
In order to achieve these aims an original instrument for assessing the democratic culture in formal and non-formal education institutions was developed and implemented in 10 European countries. The Democracy Health Questionnaire (DHQ) measured the state of democratic practices and values in educational programmes in 1330 educational institutions across Europe. The DHQ was designed in such a manner that its concepts provided a foundation for the development of the Democracy Health Index (DHI).
Qualitative research segment aimed to understand and compare the youth’s perspectives on everyday democracy. Ten case studies on groups of young people (target community groups) that are growing up in challenging contexts (target community locations) for the development and practice of everyday democracy were conducted. Some of the groups that were covered in this phase of the project were immigrants, youth in substitute homes, refugees and migrants, ethnic minorities, LGBT youth, those living in remote areas, girls and young people living in less privileged socioeconomic environments. In each of ten countries an in-depth case study consisting of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic accounts were conducted. Research design in both quantitative and qualitative research segments offers multitude of comparative opportunities.
First paper in the symposium explores the dilemmas and decisions regarding a research design, methodology and analytical frameworks in the project. It depicts both research segments highlighting options for overcoming problems in comparative research but also providing insight into limitations of methodological approach. A special emphasis in the paper is given to the adaptation of the three-dimensional cube adapted from Bray and Thomas (1995) allowing for an array of possibilities of how to analytically include comparative dimensions.
Second paper presents the validation process of DHQ and comparative perspective on data from schools in Austria, Croatia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain, as well as from institutions offering non-formal education in Croatia, Finland, Greece, and Ireland. Key findings from the comparative analysis of DHI indicators are presented. These results are discussed in the context of national educational propositions, highlighting both convergences and divergences.
Third paper examines the perspectives of young people from challenging contexts in 10 European countries on democracy in general, their views on democracy in educational context, and their sense of agency in a digital society. The starting point of the study is the growing alienation of youth from democratic institutions and declining political participation. Given these trends, understanding the views of young people who face additional obstacles in being heard and achieving representation in 21st-century Europe is crucial. Results offers valuable insights into the diverse perspectives of young people in challenging contexts and how variations in context, social structures, civic education, and the digital society shape their experiences and views on democracy today.
The symposium offers an opportunity to discuss not only the original research design and results, but also a consideration of the potential and effectiveness of scientific research in shaping and changing educational and social policies regarding sensitive issues in very different social, political and educational contexts.

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