Participation in the classroom as a basis for democracy education? A conceptual analysis of the concept of student participation

Abstract

In our conceptual analysis, we focus on the concept of student participation and argue for a differentiated consideration of the same. To this end, we elaborate on constituent elements and first address the definitional understanding of the concept considered as well as the participation postulate. Furthermore, we name and discuss possible purposes and qualities of participatory practice and we give an overview of the established conceptualization of participation by means of a stage model and the interdependence of autonomy and heteronomy expressed in this model. We then address participatory fields in the classroom, concrete practices of participatory decision-making, prerequisites and implications of participatory classroom practices, and possible scopes of participatory influence.

A Scoping Review on the Hidden Curriculum in Education

“…Freedom of decision and action, and the assumption of responsibility for one's own decisions and actions, are not granted here, but rather imposed for economic reasons. Analogous to managerial practice, demanding and promoting self-determined participation can in principle also aim at perfecting heteronomy in educational practice (Heid, 2005;Heid et al, 2023). Both the employment system and the education system are the results, objects, and goals of political action.…”

ICCS 2022. Schulische Sozialisation und politische Bildung von 14-Jährigen im internationalen Vergleich

“…Letztlich bleibt auch die kritische Reflexion der Partizipationsziele von Lehrenden und Schulleitung relevant -geht es um die Bereitstellung von Partizipation als Anerkennung von individueller Selbstbestimmung oder wird Partizipation genutzt, um andere instrumentelle Ziele zu erreichen (Heid et al, 2023) in einem Prozess des doing students lediglich bereits gegebene Hierarchieverhältnisse reproduzieren (Budde, 2010). In diesem Zusammenhang wird Partizipation dann lediglich als Sozialtechnik genutzt, die Accountability hervorbringen kann, aber nicht konfliktbasierte Anerkennung.…”