Promoting Democratic Citizenship Through Non-Formal Adult Education: The Case of Denmark

TY - JOUR

T1 - Promoting Democratic Citizenship Through Non-Formal Adult Education

T2 - The Case of Denmark

AU - Milana, Marcella

AU - Bernt Sørensen, Tore

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - The article presents selected findings from in-depth case studies of two non-formal learning activities organized by the Danish Folk High Schools and Day High Schools, respectively. The purpose of the empirical study was to investigate how longstanding non-formal adult education institutions have worked to foster the acquisition of civic competencies among young adults, thus contributed to learning for democratic citizenship.The analysis highlights that negotiation of meaning is never value-free; nonetheless teachers play a key role in securing a learning environment that allows for a multiplicity of views to be expressed and mutually recognised. Furthermore, the communication flow between learning institutions and the public sphere constitutes a crucial dimension for raising students' self-awareness of societal matters at both local and global level. The authors argue that, despite the particularity of the socio-cultural context which characterise the study, the above mentioned dimensions are of general interest for those involved in designing and managing learning activities for democratic citizenship in varying contexts.

AB - The article presents selected findings from in-depth case studies of two non-formal learning activities organized by the Danish Folk High Schools and Day High Schools, respectively. The purpose of the empirical study was to investigate how longstanding non-formal adult education institutions have worked to foster the acquisition of civic competencies among young adults, thus contributed to learning for democratic citizenship.The analysis highlights that negotiation of meaning is never value-free; nonetheless teachers play a key role in securing a learning environment that allows for a multiplicity of views to be expressed and mutually recognised. Furthermore, the communication flow between learning institutions and the public sphere constitutes a crucial dimension for raising students' self-awareness of societal matters at both local and global level. The authors argue that, despite the particularity of the socio-cultural context which characterise the study, the above mentioned dimensions are of general interest for those involved in designing and managing learning activities for democratic citizenship in varying contexts.

KW - Learning for democratic citizenship

KW - non-formal education

KW - Denmark

U2 - 10.1080/00313830903043125

DO - 10.1080/00313830903043125

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0031-3831

VL - 53

SP - 347

EP - 362

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

IS - 4

ER -