Learning by doing: The impact of experiencing democracy in education on political trust and participation

Abstract

This article investigates whether engagement in school or university, such as being the speaker of class, a member of a student council, and so on, has an impact on political participation and political trust. Following interactionist socialization theory, engagement during adolescence should develop ideas of citizenship, democracy, and political participation. Schools and universities are arguably key institutions as they can promote democratic decision making in the classroom. This strengthens democracy by increasing experienced political efficacy and through internalizing democratic principles (‘learning democracy’): by acting democratic, one becomes a democratic citizen. My findings show that respondents who experienced democracy in school or university indeed tend to vote and engage even in contentious forms of political participation more often. Also, the experience of democratic practices in school and university increases trust in political institutions. Moreover, trust in political institutions, in turn, increases the likelihood of voting, but not of engaging in other forms of participation. Thus, early democratic experiences seem to foster vivid and participatory democracy without streamlining people into passive participation. The article provides empirical evidence from nine European countries and an additional glance at young cohorts based on online panels.

Civic education and social interactions at school as drivers of intended electoral participation: Similarities and differences in four European school systems

“…Learning can occur through collaboration and mutual exchange with peers (Lave and Wenger, 1991), which can be promoted in open classrooms as well as during extracurricular activities (Scheerens, 2009). It may be assumed that these activities have direct effects on intentions to participate politically (Kiess, 2022). By working together toward a common goal and dealing with conflicts or differences, students may acquire "political skills, attitudes, and realistic expectations about the political process" (Dassonneville et al, 2012: 141).…”

“…Voting intentions are an antecedent of voting behavior (Glasford, 2008). Students with higher levels of political knowledge (Schulz et al, 2018a) and more exposure to experience-based civic education (Kiess, 2022) are more likely to intend to participate politically by voting. Further, trust in political institutions is related to intended electoral participation, but the relationship is not straightforward and depends on the political context of a given educational system (Torney-Purta et al, 2004).…”

Youth doing politics in times of increasing inequalities

“…The impact of socialising practices -in this case of democratic practice during the school years -is also examined from a different angle in the paper on 'Learning by doing: The impact of experiencing democracy in education on political trust and participation', by Kiess (2021), in this Special Issue. The article looks at political engagement in school or university -for example, as speaker of class, a member of a student council, and so onto see if this type of behaviour impacts on political participation and political trust.…”

Relasi Perwakilan, Pemilihan dan Voting dalam Penyelenggaraan Demokrasi di Indonesia

“…Hal ini nampak pada perkembangan sistem demokrasi modern seperti yang di populerkan di Indonesia dan meskipun banyak teoritikus demokrasi yang secara sadar dan berkeinginan besar untuk mereduksi model demokrasi, tetapi pada kenyataannya sampai saat ini belum satupun yang mampu menemukan format yang lebih tepat untuk memaknai sistem pemilihan dalam demokrasi yang tidak sekedar bernuansa kompetitif sehingga mengabaikan hak dan kewajibannya kepada rakyatnya (Smith, 2018& Triono, 2017 Dilain pihak utamanya para politisi atau mereka yang lahir dari sistem pemilihan tersebut menganggap bahwa di dalam demokrasi, metode pemilihanlah yang paling rasional untuk mengakomodasi kepentingan dan kedaulatan rakyat, tetapi dalam perkembangannya kurang mampu membendung beragam proplem dan dinamika sosial politik, sekaligus berimplikasi munculnya ketidak percayaan (distrust) dan disharmonisasi masyarakat terhadap produk kebijakan negara yang lahir dari kompromi politik.Meskipun asumsi-asumsi demikian berkembang, namun bukan itu satu-satunya alasan untuk memaknai pemilihan dalam demokrasi secara sepihak dan lantas jabatan atau pos apa saja yang termasuk dalam prinsip pemilihan? Jawabanya tentu tidak abstrak bahwa pemilihan dalam sistem demokrasi berorientasi pada jabatan publik terutama legislatif dan eksekutif dengan otoritas dan tanggung jawab yang lebih besar terkait penyusunan kebijakan maupun dalam mengelola negara dan stabilitas pemerintahan (Warren, 2017;Freitag & Ackermann, 2016& Kiess, 2021 Pemilihan umum yang membedakan negara demokrasi dengan negara yang bersifat otokrasi, pemilihan umum dianggap menjadi ukuran demokrasi karena rakyat dapat berpartisipasi secara langsung. Sejarah mencatat bahwa pemilihan ada sejak zaman dahulu sebagai salah satu cara masyarakat memilih pemimpinnya (Febriyanti & Pratama, 2017).…”