CR&DALL members and subscribers in the Glasgow area may be interested in the following seminar by Professor Jan Germen janmaat of UCL Institute of Education:

The Education for Democracy Index: Measuring and Assessing the Democratic Performance of Education Systems

This presentation introduces the Education for Democracy Index (EfDI), developed for most European countries using national data on system characteristics, policies, and practices. Unlike other indexes, the EfDI also evaluates the implementation of policies in schools. Read more about the presentation and speaker below.

This seminar is sponsored by the Democracy Under Threat: How Educaton Can Save It (DEMED) project at the University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde and the PASCAL Observatory. It is free to attend but registration is required. Find out more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/professor-jan-germen-janmaat-the-education-for-democracy-index-tickets-1014405864247

Abstract:

In response to challenges facing liberal democracy, Western governments have increasingly looked to education as a tool to strengthen democratic values in the younger generation. While research shows that education, especially civic education, can foster democratic knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors, no comprehensive measure has yet been developed to assess how national education systems promote these traits. This presentation introduces the Education for Democracy Index (EfDI), developed for most European countries using national data on system characteristics, policies, and practices. Unlike other indexes, the EfDI also evaluates the implementation of policies in schools. The index will be linked to national political traditions and young people’s democratic dispositions. The project draws from a literature review of factors influencing democratic dispositions and educational inequalities, informing the selection of key aspects and indicators for the index. A preliminary version of the EfDI will be presented, along with its subdimensions and interactive maps.

Speaker bio:

Jan Germen Janmaat is a professor of political socialization at UCL Institute of Education. He is interested in how education, in all its aspects, influences democratic dispositions, such as civic knowledge and skills, political engagement, tolerance, trust, and civic equality. He has published widely on this topic in journals at the intersection of education, sociology, political science, and diversity studies. His latest book is “School Councils across Europe: Democratic Forums or Exclusive Clubs?” (Brill Publishers) (co-authored with Isabel Kempner).