Democratise political education in schools

Dr Edda Sant

As a former citizenship education teacher, Dr Sant was dedicated to igniting the interest of young minds in democratic politics. Transitioning into the role of a researcher, she became acutely aware of significant deficiencies in current approaches to political education. In her latest publication, Political Education in Times of Populism, she endeavours to rethink the approach to political education in schools, aiming to pave the way for a more democratic tomorrow.

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Many children and young people, particularly those from disadvantage backgrounds, lack the opportunity to receive comprehensive political or citizenship education at school. When they do, they usually encounter a top-down curriculum which does not resonate or align with their political experiences.

Now is the time to...

• ensure that all children and young people have access to sufficient and quality political education in schools;
• democratise and diversify what and how we teach political education in schools.

Find out more

• Promoting Democracy in Schools and Colleges (research impact case study)
• Dr. Edda Sant was interviewed on Teachers Talk Radio (February, 2024): 'Educating for Democracy' to explore the questions 'How can schools teach democratic values?' 'Do we agree on the values of democracy?' and more
• Sant, E. Weinberg, J. Thiel, J. (2024) 'Fail to plan, plan to fail. Are education policies in England helping teachers to deliver on the promise of democracy?', British Educational Research Journal
• Sant, E., González-Valencia, G., Shaikh, G., Santisteban, A., da Costa, M., Hanley, C., & Davies, I. (2022). 'Characterising citizenship education in terms of its emancipatory potential: reflections from Catalonia, Colombia, England, and Pakistan' Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education
• Sant, E (2021) 'Political Education in Times of Populism | Towards a Radical Democratic Education', Palgrave Macmillan
• Sant, E. (2019) 'Democracy in crisis – unshackle schools from test results to give children the chance to form opinions', The Conversation

Resources

• Promoting Democracy resource: Posters
• Promoting Democracy resource: How to Vote
• Promoting Democracy resource: Teaching Resources

Related research

• Learn more about The University of Manchester’s global inequalities research
• Learn more about the University's policy engagement Institute, Policy@Manchester
• Find out more about Creative Manchester, which develops and sustains interdisciplinary research communities across the University