All things considered: The views of adolescents in vocational education on competing democratic values

Abstract

The views young people have towards democratic values shape their views in later life. However, the values that are fundamental to democracy, such as majority rule and minority rights, are often competing. This study aims to provide insight into the ways adolescents view democratic issues in which democratic values are competing. To do so, three democratic issues with varying conditions were designed, and discussed during interviews with students in vocational education. The results show that most adolescents consider both democratic values that underlie an issue. Furthermore, as the conditions in which the issues take place were altered during the interviews, adolescents explicitly evaluated different perspectives and starting shifting between both values. The findings of this study show that adolescents’ views on democratic issues are layered, and include considering multiple democratic values and taking account of the conditions in which these are situated.

Educación y ciudadanía en tiempos de crisis: un campo en busca de horizontes

“…En la escuela se produce un aprendizaje sociopolítico que engloba, como un componente, el comportamiento político adquirido en interacciones y experiencia escolares (Beaumont, 2011). Entonces, en este tipo de participación ya no influye principalmente la práctica docente, sino que las prácticas de la escuela, tal como promover espacios de participación estudiantil, generar espacios de formación de valores, actitudes democráticas u opiniones sobre la democracia (Vaessen et al, 2022) y concientizar sobre las desigualdades del sistema político (por ejemplo, brechas de género) (Archard, 2013).…”