Democracy and Democratic Education: Searches and Concerns

Abstract

The main axis of this study includes the analysis of democracy as a political system and as a social mechanism and way of life, the reflection on the crisis of democracy today and the causes of its challenge, as well as the definition of democratic education as a determining factor in shaping the democratic citizen with active citizenship.

Democracy as a political system in modern industrial societies became popular because of its association with the socio-economic system and the dissemination of democratic ways of living people by the media. all over the world. The globalization of social life with the possibility of expanding and legitimizing democracy initially gave the impression that the establishment of a stable democratic order in a country as an undertaking is not difficult. However, through a historical review of the evolution of the globalization of the economy, which has brought considerable benefits to the production and accumulation of wealth, the system's inability to ensure the quality and efficiency of democratic institutions is featured (Alexander, Thompson & Edles, 2016; The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2016). Democracy is being called into question today. This is because in countries with high economic growth, where formal procedures seem to maintain democratic processes, there is a lack of prosperity and social equality for all sections of the population, a deepening of social inequalities, a sharp contraction of the middle class.

Because democracy is not only a form of government but, above all, a way of communicating, interacting with people in pursuit of a common interest, it offers multiple possibilities for action. Therefore, it shows the role of democratic citizens in order to thrive and preserve democracy. And the formation of a democratic citizen is achieved in democratic schools that promote democratic processes and enhance the development of democratic conscience and behavior in the new man. In the project we present proposals and practices for shaping the democratic active citizen through democratic education.