ERIC Number: EJ1249478
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0726-416X
EISSN: N/A
Understanding Democracy in Dutch Curriculum Change through a Delphi Method
Parra, Saro Lozano; Bakker, Cok; van Liere, Lucien
Curriculum and Teaching, v35 n1 p5-22 Apr 2020
Citizenship education is an important part of current debates about future education. In contrast, educational philosopher Gert Biesta calls for a shift "from teaching citizenship to learning democracy". This study wants to contribute to this shift. A Delphi-method is applied on a Dutch case study, presenting a way to collect and analyze data from experts that can be applied in different political, cultural and geographical contexts. The Delphi panel consists of experts from three categories of expertise in the field of democracy and Dutch education. A thematic analysis of the data collected through two succeeding rounds showed four emerging themes when turning the scope from citizenship to democracy: the distribution of responsibility of teachers and school leaders, the questions revolving around the "freedom of education" secured by the Dutch constitution, the nature of "citizenship education", and most importantly, "the school as a playground to practice democracy". This final theme was singled out by the experts as a higher purpose of democracy in education. This study argues that the concept of the school as a playground to practice democracy should be the focus to make the shift from teaching citizenship to learning democracy.
Descriptors: Curriculum Development, Educational Change, Democracy, Citizenship Education, Educational Philosophy, Case Studies, Delphi Technique, Foreign Countries, Freedom, Teaching Methods, Specialists, Leadership Responsibility, Instructional Leadership
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
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