Policy brief: Education inequalities & political participation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The DEMOCRAT project has conducted a comprehensive and multi-faceted analysis of political participation, democratic values, misinformation and the impact of digitalisation on democracy in the European context. DEMOCRAT has examined different aspects of political engagement, including voting behaviour, formal and informal participation, and the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on these activities. The analysis comprises three distinct strands of research: A comparative analysis of data from the main international surveys: the European Social Survey (ESS) and the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). An international online experiment on the ability to detect and the likelihood to disseminate misinformation. An analysis of the social bias of digital tools and their application taking as example the gender bias and gender stereotyping in the use of a mathematics learning platform in Spain. The findings enable the refinement of the recommendation for Education for Democracy proposed in earlier reports produced by DEMOCRAT team, that can be summarized as follows: In the context of multidimensional societal change, Education for Democracy should not only provide students with theoretical knowledge of democratic principles but also equip them with the critical thinking skills necessary to analyse discrimination, exclusion, and inequality. As digital citizenship keeps evolving, Education for Democracy has also to address the challenge to empower children and youth by fostering critical thinking. The empowerment and fostering agency towards responsible democratic citizenship should be embedded across curricula, teacher education and training programmes, and digital education initiatives. Fostering agency towards responsible democratic citizenship and increasing political participation appears to be related to the experience of the effectivity of participation activities. Therefore, it is important to create opportunities for students to observe and experience how democracy works at first hand, using democratic principles in practice both in and outside schools. Education for democracy cannot be confined to school settings alone. It must be understood as a broader societal endeavour that extends beyond the classroom, engaging families and local communities as essential sites of democratic practice. Schools play a pivotal role in fostering democratic values, but their impact is significantly enhanced when students' learning experiences are reinforced within their families and (local) communities. A pivotal aspect in nurturing effective Education for Democracy is the presence of a highly qualified and motivated teaching staff. This can be facilitated through the provision of comprehensive initial teacher education and training programmes, supplemented by continuous professional development and self-directed learning opportunities
Authors: Krüger, Karsten, Montolio, Daniel, Warat, Marta, Ostafińska-Molik, Barbara, Sekuła, Paulina
Institutions: Universitat de Barcelona, Jagiellonian University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7095055622
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