Abstract
This paper describes two cases in which Norwegian junior high school students contribute to local politics through a school subject called “Democracy and Citizenship”. The curriculum was adapted by a team of researchers, teachers, administrators, and voluntary organizations to include meetings, exchanges of opinions, and feedback from local representatives. Results suggest that positive experiences involved getting to know local representatives over time and feeling heard, even if ideas were discarded. Digital interaction during the pandemic was accepted but physical meetings were preferred. Suggestions for easy implementation include including local representatives as course contributors and designing feedback as an integral part of the course. Future directions involve measuring changes in democratic self-efficacy, local belonging, and confidence in local politics, to see if positive experiences with the school subject transfer to positive experiences with local democracy for youth.
Presenters
Daniele Evelin AlvesSenior Researcher, Work Research Institute, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Participatory methods, Democracy, Curriculum, Community
