Promotion of National Heroes as Civic Role-Models during Democratisation

Abstract

Th e paper considers the relationship between remembrance narratives on national heroes and proliferation of political attitudes, values and behaviours during democratisation. It discusses the impact of interpretations of the past on the development of civil society in the context of public education as an instrument of identity politics. Comparing the experiences of Chile, Estonia, Georgia, Poland, South Africa and Spain, the authors present the role of national heroes in the legitimisation of behaviours and attitudes, new elites and national unity. Th e discussed results prove that the establishment of a pro-democratic system of civic education increases chances for successful consolidation of democracy in post-authoritarian countries.

Patriotic education as part of history classes for students of engineering universities

“…This work brings together people of different ethnicities and shows young people how important it is to respect their history while also strengthening the generation links. The ongoing and rapidly expanding memory research of the recent decades shows that interpreting the past is crucial for different aspects of social and political life, which means such interpretations must be made carefully [4]. The project has proven to address not only teaching challenges, but also historical research as it has opened new pages in the country's history.…”

“…Patriotic education of young people has traditionally been on the core ideological agenda of the state; it is a problem addressed through public and governmental organizations, educational and spiritual institutions. Sociological studies of the last five years show that patriotic education remains an important and socially significant problem [1][2][3][4]. Today, patriotic education needs to employ both the conventional methods and the breakthrough technologies that can help to instill appropriate values, principles and worldview, help to shape in a young person such traits as civic-mindedness, responsibility, respect for the country and its history, honesty, and decency.…”