Education for Democracy vs. Anti-democratic Education

Based on the work of Wood (1990)

Values and Assumptions

Democratic	Anti-Democratic (Corporate)
Questioning and critiquing authority	Obedience
Individuality	Conformity
Participation in the process of democracy	Follow rules and processes

5 Principles for Empowering Students (and Teachers)

• Believe in the individual's right and responsibility to participate publicly.

• Have a sense of political efficacy, that is, the knowledge that one's contributions to community life are important.

• Value the principles of democratic life – equality (equity), liberty, and community.

• Know that alternative arrangements to the status quo exist and are worthwhile.

• Gain the requisite intellectual skills to participate in public discourse

Student Empowerment

• Students will come to believe in the individual's right and responsibility to participate publicly.

• Students will develop a sense of political efficacy (that one's contributions to the community are important).

• Students will value the principles of democratic life: equality, liberty, and community.

• Students will know that alternatives to the status quo exist and are worthwhile.

• Students will gain the intellectual skills to participate in public discourse.

Choice and Control

• Students have choice and control over the curriculum.

• Control over knowledge and information.

• Students gain a sense of their own wisdom: ability to think, make judgments, and act.

• Students have right to order their own world.

Equity

• Students have right to equal access to curriculum (no class and political division).

Community

• Classroom community extends beyond the classroom into the surrounding community.

Worth

• Teachers maintain a holistic perspective on situational problem solving.

• Enjoy being with students.

• Draw insights from student experiences outside school.

• Hold a sense of mission about the importance of teaching.

• Exhibit love and compassion for students.

• Determine ways to build on student strengths.

• Have a clear sense of meaning and direction and are in the process of revising the same.

• Guide their work with a quest for that which is worthwhile and just.

• Consider the issue of developmental appropriateness as problematic in each new situation.

• Actively engage in self-education.

Barriers to Teacher Empowerment

• State (Provincial) reform mandates

• Standardized tests mandated by state (province) or district (board)

• District curriculum guides

• Required texts

• Uniform instructional pacing

• Absence of adequate staff development program (no long-term investment in development)

• Organization of schools

• Teacher evaluation models

• Professional preparation of teachers which limits exposure to critical issues

Feminist Perspectives of Community vs. Male Domination

• Teacher modeling of thinking as a fallible, but attainable activity.

• Care of and for students.

• Public view of teaching as women's work, but profession is dominated by men.

• Language used by women is viewed as less credible in coed groups.

• Men and boys have been socialized in more dominant and assertive forms of discourse.

• Media reflect stereotypical views of woman teachers, who are either lazy and superficial, etc. or and inflexible "battle-ax."

Questions:

• How do you see these aspects manifesting in your school or education context?

• What approaches can you think of to overcome these barriers?

• How could these approaches be addressed within the framework of your school?

References

• Wood, G. H. (1990). Teachers as curriculum workers. In J. T. Sears and J. D. Marshall, Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries (pp. 97-109). New York: Teachers College Press.

© 2006 Jeffrey W. Bloom