Social Foundations of Education and Democracy - Teacher Education for the Development of Democratically Oriented Teachers

Oct 15, 2026

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Explores how social foundations and teacher education can cultivate democratically oriented teachers and stronger democratic schools. Defines democracy as social equality and respect for individuals, then reviews research describing democratic school characteristics such as engaged learning, cooperation, diversity accommodation, and fair resource distribution. Argues that democratic education builds critical citizens through problem-posing, empathy, informed skepticism, and imagination, while critiquing schooling practices that reduce dialogue and curiosity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Background

Democracy, Education, and Critical Citizenship

Habits of Heart and Mind in Democratic Education

Critique of Current Schooling Practices

Leigh M. O’Brien is a professor in the College of Education at Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey. Social Foundations of Education and Democracy: Teacher Education for the Development of Democratically Oriented Teachers By Leigh M. O’Brien There is only one road to democracy: education. (Barber 1997) Introduction I am a teacher educator who for 10 years regularly taught a Social Foundations course to Master’s-level education students at a small liberal arts college in the northeast U. S. One of the course foci was, of course, democracy and education. To introduce the topic, I first asked the students to collectively define democracy. Although they often struggled, for the purposes of schooling, at least, we often arrived at a definition that looked something like this: democracy (n): the principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community (The American Heritage Dictionary, 1985) . Several years ago I began touse a short piece byRon Miller to more directly connect this definition of democ- 􀀳 racy with schooling. Drawing on his review of “eight great books on democratic education,” Miller (1995) contends that democratic schools are characterized by: • Engaged, relevant, socially responsible learning; • Cooperation within a supportive and caring environment; • Accommodation to diverse learning styles; • Celebration of cultural [and other kinds of] diversity; and • A fair distribution of resources. When I shared this list with my students, no one was ever able to name a school in which all these characteristics are in place; in fact, they frequently noted that in many schools, none of these apply. If that is an accurate assessment of school[ing in the U.S. today](ing in the U.S. today), and I believe it is, and if it is important to have democratic schools—again, I believe it is—what can Social Foundations teacher educators do to support the development of teachers attuned to and grounded in an education for democracy? And, to that end, how can we make our own (teacher education) classrooms more democratic? The Background Throughout the history of public schooling in the United States, maintaining our democracy has been cited as one of the fundamental justifications for public support for schools (Miller, 1997; Silberman, 1973; Soder, Goodlad, & McMannon, 2001). The pioneers of public education—among them Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and John Dewey—argued that schools were, infact, essential to the health and well-being of the republic. This is because relevant, problem-posing, multi-faceted education—democratic education—is central to democratic life; it is necessary for enfranchised citizenship, and for teaching students how to play an active role in the economic, cultural, and political life of the nation (Dewey, 1916; Giroux, 1988; Mills, 1956; Noddings, 2005) . A democratic state requires the education of critical, thoughtful citizens who can define their own purposes and are able and willing to act upon their ideas (Eisner, 2001; Freire, 1986; Giroux, 1994) . Thus, in a democracy, we need an education that helps children find their own voices and communicate their own messages, that celebrates the hundred or more languages of children (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1993). We need an education that supports the development of students who are gloriously different individuals who will enrich our world by posing and solving problems in ways we have never tried. And we need teachers who promote improvisation, surprise, and diversity of educational outcomes as educational virtues (Eisner, 2001, p. 372) . In sum, democratic education ought to liberate humans rather than domesticate them; it should unfit them to be slaves, to paraphrase Frederick Douglass. Certain habits of the heart and mind are central to democratic education and able tobe inculcated early on as well as expanded upon as one grows in knowledge, life experiences, and capabilities: in

FAQs

How does the document define democracy for schooling purposes?

It uses a definition based on the principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

What features are cited as characteristics of democratic schools?

Democratic schools are described as supporting engaged, socially responsible learning; cooperation in a caring environment; accommodation to diverse learning styles; celebration of cultural diversity; and a fair distribution of resources.

Why does the author argue that teacher education and classrooms should be more democratic?

The document links democratic life to education that develops critical, thoughtful citizens and helps students find their voices, while noting that current systems often limit meaningful dialogue and weaken students’ curiosity.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by moss~