Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This study examines conceptions of democracy held by undergraduate college students majoring in elementary education, history, and political science. The study extends a study by Ross and Yeager (1999) that examined preservice elementary teacher education students' conceptions of democracy. Ross and Yeager (1999) found students expressed a procedural, process-oriented view of democracy that emphasized key political features of democratic governance. This study examines whether these views of democracy were unique to education students or whether they were reflected in other majors as well. The perspectives of Dewey (1916, 1927), Barber (1992, 1998), Parker (1996), and Goodman (1992) provide the analytical framework for the study. Interviews with eighteen undergraduate students revealed procedural, process- oriented views of democracy and citizenship and interesting perspectives on diversity and equity across majors. Implications for teacher education are discussed

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barber

(1998). A passion for democracy. NewJersey: Princeton University Press.

Barber

(1992). An aristocracy of everyone: The politics of education and the future of America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Barber

(1984). Strong democracy: Participatory politics for a new age. Berkely: University of California Press.

Dahl

(1982). Dilemmas of pluralist democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Dewey

(1927, 1954). The public and its problems. Chicago: Swallow Press.

Dewey

(1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan Company.

Diamond

(1996). Is the third wave over? Journal of Democracy, 7, 20-37.

Goodman

(1989). Education for critical democracy. Journal of education, 171(2), 88-116.

Goodman

(1992). Elementary schooling for critical democracy. Albany: State University of New York Press.

10.

Lortie

D.C.

(1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

11.

McNeil

E. M.

(1986). Contradictions of control: School structure and school knowledge. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

12.

McPherson

G. H.

(1972). Small town teacher. Cambridge: Harvard Urniversity Press.

13.

Parker

W.C.

(1986a). Introduction. Educating the democratic mind. Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 1-22.

14.

Parker

W.C.

(1996b). "Advanced" ideas about democracy: Toward a pluralist conception of citizen education. Teachers College Record. 98. 104-125.

15.

Parker

W.C.

(1996c). Curriculum for democracy. In Soder

Roger

(Ed.), Democracy, education and the schools. San Francisco: Joey-Bass Publishers, pp. 182- 210.

16.

Parker

W.C.

(1997). Democracy and difference. Theory and research in social education. Spring, 220-232.

17.

Peshkin

(1978). Growing up American: Schooling and the survival of community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

18.

Ross

D.D.

& Yeager

E.A.

(1999) What does democracy mean to prospective elementary teachers? Journal of teacher education. 50. pp. 255-266.

19.

Stake

R. E.

and Easley

J. A.

(1978). Case studies in science education: Vol. 2. Design, overview and general findings. Urbana, IL: Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation, University of Illinois

Contrasting Perspectives on Democracy?

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References