Why ‘education for democracy’, not ‘democratic education’ or ‘education about democracy’?
Whilst there is value in all of these, I specialise in designing and running educational programmes that give people the skills, confidence and desire to take ownership of their communities and society.
‘Education about democracy’ is essential for all those living in (or who want to live in) a democracy, but it’s not enough to make the democracy inclusive, effective and resilient. It implies being told about the subject, but democracy is not a structure to be studied and critiqued, it is a way of interacting, so the way we learn about it has to be active and interactive.
‘Democratic education’ takes this approach: making the way in which we learn a democratic process. I fully support this as an ideal, but my focus is not just about how we educate democratically, it also seeks to understand the education that is happening through our democratic processes.
The kind of work I do
Education
Writing and delivery
- With focus on how people can better understand and get involved democratically with their communities and societies.
- One-off sessions or schemes of work.
- For both adults and young people.
- Practical, creative and engaging.
Speaking
On democracy and community action
- On why democracy and voting are not the same thing, how voting is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for democracy.
- On how democracy is different from majoritarianism and how populists try to convince you its not.
- On what small acts can teach you about how to take ownership of your community and society.
Programming
Of projects to engage communities
- Co-design of projects with the target communtities.
- Development of shared goals.
- Building business systems and training to support the project.
- Evaluation (including of projects run by others).