Democracy through Education?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Education, Democracy, and Epistemic Justice in a Changing Global Order

Proposal

Democracy Through Education?

A brief history of education in the United States will show that many educators, up until the 20th century, believed that teaching virtues that were common to the “American character” would defuse political and intellectual conflict. It was assumed that schools were “meritocratic institutions designed to foster individual betterment and social progress in ways that (were) apolitical and non-ideological”. However, as far back as 1916, John Dewey wrote Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education. Although Dewey was a philosopher, he is considered an educational reformer due to his definition of democracy which led him to reconstruct schools with ideas related to progressive education and liberalism. He believed education was a social function that would change depending on the society. The former template of teaching common virtues, once considered a viable goal, was by the mid-1900’s, being looked at as dominating the culture and society and as a way of exploitation and oppression.

Also, in the mid-1900’s, colleges began to teach more about social justice and students, who formally enrolled to gain access to a career path, now were instead debating political and moral issues. Those students in university programs that needed to be certified to teach, had to take classes in diversity and social inequality (by gender, class, age, ethnicity, and race). The goal of becoming educated to be able to have a more unified society had changed. Although today, our society is the most educated than it has ever been, it has been said that presently, the United States could be more divided than ever.

Societies in transition are vulnerable to strong forces for political change. In a Comparative Education piece, I show that Spain’s historically conservative educational system was changed in the early 1930’s, as the Second Republic in 1931 took over the monarchy and the schools (which were run by the Catholic Church), and completely revamped them (mostly in the cities) to what was considered progressive ideology at the time. Philosophers and Spanish writers, labeling themselves as the Generation of ’98, began this trend over 30 years before, which was a cultural movement which sought to change Spanish ethics. Other European philosophers, such as Kierkegaard, born in Copenhagen, and those who were part of the German Enlightenment, were able to sway this historically conservative Spanish country to their more “democratic” ideas. The result was a very bloody Civil War.

The Nationalists, under General Francisco Franco, gained control of the government from 1939 until Franco’s death in 1975. During these years the Catholic Church again controled the schools, but now worked closely with the fascist government. Textbooks were developed as a type of political socialization to influence the minds of the populace.

In conclusion, democracy, which is usually associated with freedom but is hard to define, cannot operate without a government. And our founding fathers made it clear that a democracy won’t be viable unless there is a moral society. The first place to learn about morals is at home, the first educator of our children. The second is a family’s place of worship. Lastly is the school. We need to fight to make sure our schools have the freedom to reflect our values, but in places that do not, the family and one’s faith can be even more powerful, as countries like Spain, can attest to.



For discussion –

How can we define “democracy” to truly let people have choice in their education for their children?

What is the role in government in education?

What is the influence of a population divided in philosophies, goals, ideals, mores, etc., on the educational system of a country, state, community?

Can we ever come to a consensus, or should we agree to not agree?

Author

• Joan Cicero Domke, Harper College