The school as a public space for democratic experiences: Formal student participation and its political characteristics

Abstract

School democracy in terms of formal student participation is often expressed through different types of councils. This requires that these forms of political participation function democratically. The article contributes knowledge about the school as a public space and the democratic experiences gained through formal student participation in class and school councils. The article is designed in four steps: (I) the presentation of previous research, (II) the presentation of the pedagogical political participation model used for analysis and discussion, (III) the findings of an empirical case in Sweden, and (IV) theoretical synthetizes using John Dewey’s educational theory. It is argued that the political characteristics of formal student participation are uniform and bound to different types of political participation, such as being informed and heard and a lack of political influence that positions students as political objects for democratic fostering. This raises questions about the consequences of students’ growth of democratic experiences.