Democracy and school - the view of school administrators and young people

Important new developments in education, society, politics and the economy in the first two decades of the third millennium make it necessary to rethink the relationship between education and democracy and, above all, to work out how education can support the development of democratic or democracy-promoting competences.
School headmasters play a decisive role in the further development of the school system. A few months ago, FiBS published the Cornelsen school management study ‘Making schools fit for the future’, giving school management a voice. The aim of the new study is, on the one hand, to analyse in depth the data collected in this study on the topic of democracy and democracy in schools and, on the other hand, to analyse in depth existing youth studies, in particular the Shell Youth Study, in order to capture the views of young people on this topic.

The data selection and analysis are guided by three sets of questions:

1. Youth and democracy. The focus here is on young people and their needs, concerns and wishes. To what extent is it important for young people in Germany to be able to participate in a democratic framework at school and in society?
2. School and democracy. In the second area, the questions concern school matters in relation to democracy. What opportunities are currently available in schools to engage democratically and promote democratic competence?
3. Democracy education of the future: visions and possibilities. What visions for democracy education in schools do school administrators have and to what extent can they be realised?