ERIC Number: EJ1140079
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1085-3545
EISSN: N/A
Teaching for Toleration in Pluralist Liberal Democracies
van Waarden, Betto
Democracy & Education, v25 n1 Article 1 2017
This article determines which education enables the perpetuation of diverse ways of life and the liberal democracy that accommodates this diversity. Liberals like John Rawls, Stephen Macedo, and William Galston have disagreed about the scope of civic education. Based on an analysis of toleration--the primary means for maintaining a pluralist liberal democracy--I argue that schools should teach democratic participatory skills and a minimal exposure to diversity to enable citizens to participate in the democratic process of defining which cultural and religious practices the state should tolerate or prohibit through its laws. To make this argument, I contend, in contrast to several scholars, that toleration is practiced primarily between the democratic state and citizens rather than among citizens. Although many theorists do not show the educational implications of their theories, I conclude that schools must teach: (a) mutual respect among citizens, (b) citizens' constitutional rights, (c) democratic participatory skills, (d) a basic understanding of other worldviews, and (e) critical media skills. Students should master these components through instruction on government, cultures and religions, and the media, but more important through discussions and democratic simulations both inside and outside the classroom.
Descriptors: Democratic Values, Cultural Pluralism, School Role, Skill Development, Consciousness Raising, Civil Rights, Citizen Participation, World Views, Critical Thinking, Media Literacy, Simulation, Foreign Countries, Role of Education, Social Attitudes
Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road MSC 93, Portland, OR 97219. Tel: 503-768-6054; Fax: 503-768-6053; e-mail: journal@lclark.edu; Web site: http://democracyeducationjournal.org/home
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A