Conference Agenda

Symposium will offer first insights into the empirical results of the HORIZON EUROPE project ‘Democracy meets arts: critical change labs for building democratic cultures through creative and narrative practices - CRITICAL CHANGELAB’ which is currently being conducted in 10 European countries.

Among others, project’s main goals relevant are to:

• examine the current state of democracy within education institutions
• identify and compare perspectives on everyday democracy of youth living in challenging contexts iacross Europe;
• design a scalable and tailorable model of democratic pedagogy in formal and non-formal learning environments.

Symposium consists of three papers from Croatia, Spain and Ireland. First paper focuses on a presentation of the development of an instrument for assessing the state of democracy in formal and non-formal education institutions in 10 European countries. The Democracy Health Questionnaire (DHQ) measured the state of democratic practices in educational programmes in more than 1500 educational institutions across Europe. The DHQ was designed in such a manner that its concepts provide a foundation for the development of the Democracy Health Index (DHI). Paper presents results of the quantitative analysis in which schools’ and organisations providing non-formal educational programs are compared. Psychometric analytical procedures allow for a discussion on the nature of indexes probing democratic health. In the future, this instrument will serve as a self-assessment tool for various learning environments – both formal and non-formal.

Using qualitative methodology, second paper deals with in depth perspective through the exploration of the youth perspectives on everyday democracy. Ten case studies on groups of young people that are growing up in challenging contexts for the development and practice of everyday democracy were conducted. Some of the groups that were covered in this phase of the project were immigrants, refugees and migrants, ethnic minorities (Roma youth…), LGBT youth, those living in remote areas, girls and young people living in less privileged socioeconomic environments. In each of ten countries an in-depth case study consisting of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic accounts were conducted. Each case study will consist of focus groups with youth (n=7-9 participants per case study), series of semi-structured interviews with educators, pedagogical coordinators, civil society organisations living and working in the selected contexts (n=5 interviews per case study) and ethnographic accounts of the contexts that include secondary historic analyses. In the paper the Spanish case from Barcelona will be presented.

Finally third paper offers perspectives on development of a conceptual and methodological framework for developing critical literacies for democracy using creative and narrative practices. The framework articulates the Critical ChangeLab Model of Democratic Pedagogy. The development of the framework considered national curricula and pedagogical frameworks on citizenship education, as well as existing competence frameworks for democracy education, such as the Council of Europe’s competences for democratic culture development. Furthermore, creative and narrative practices for supporting cultural and critical literacies, with special consideration to those informed by critical pedagogy, critical historical learning, theatre of the oppressed, critical and speculative design, and futures thinking methodologies, were used as benchmarks in the development of the framework. Using interdisciplinary methodologies and approaches, these methods were linked with a variety of digital technologies, such as social media and gaming platforms, and prototypes that enable its deployment in various settings (face-to-face, hybrid, and virtual) using transmedia approaches. Third paper presents development of this model in Ireland.

This paper aims to describe the development of an original instrument for the assessment of the current status of democracy within educational institutions. Existing instruments (e.g. Booth & Ainscow, 2002; Köhler, Weber, Brese, Schulz & Carstens, 2018; Scheerens, 2011; Skidmore & Bound, 2008) did not encompass the concept of institutional democracy holistically and were limited to certain aspects of democratic functioning and specific types of educational setting. Within Critical ChangeLab project, we developed Democracy Health Questionnaire (DHQ) and Democracy Health Index (DHI) to assess the democracy health of both schools and institutions providing non-formal educational programmes. DHQ is envisaged as a self-assessment tool that educational institutions can use to estimate the current state of their democracy and plan future activities to improve this important organisational characteristic. Democracy health is conceptualised through two broad areas that indicate the democratic culture of the institution: democratic values and democratic practices. The DHQ measures four democratic values: Participation, Accountability and transparency, Equality, diversity and inclusion, and Eco-social responsibility, and 26 practices that are organised in four domains representing the life-cycle of educational programmes: Development, Access, Delivery, and Outcomes and Impact of educational programmes. DHQ is designed to address the existing diversity of educational institutions, educational programmes, and various European contexts. It is developed in two parallel versions, one for schools and one for institutions providing non-formal educational services. In DHQ the participants are asked to estimate each of the democratic values and practices in their respective institutions on three dimensions: Importance, Current level, and Expectation in five years, using a scale from 0% (not at all) to 100% (very much). In the process of development of the instrument, the DHQ was applied in year 2023/24 across ten EU countries. In total, more than 1500 participants (school directors and individuals in charge of educational programmes within institutions providing a wide range of non-formal educational programmes to youth aged 11 to 18) completed the questionnaire through the online research platform Alchemer. Based on their responses, three indicators of DHI will be calculated: DHI Total and DHI Domain (indicating the current level of institutional democracy weighted by the estimated importance of corresponding items), and DHI profile, indicating democracy health gap between the current state and expectations in five years. In this paper we discuss the usability and validity of DHQ and DHI in measuring and comparing the levels of democracy within educational institutions.

Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (2002). Index for inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE). Köhler, H., Weber, S., Brese, F., Schulz, W., & Carstens, R. (2018). ICCS 2016 User Guide for the International Database. IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016. IAEEA Scheerens, J. (2011). Indicators on informal learning for active citizenship at school. Educational assessment, evaluation and accountability, 23, 201-222. Skidmore, P., & Bound, K. (2008). Everyday Democracy Index. London: Demos.

This paper builds on the European project Critical ChangeLab («Democracy Meets Arts: Critical Change Labs for Building Democratic Cultures through Creative and Narrative Practices»). The main aim of the project is to revitalise the relationship between young people and democracy at a time when polarisation, deep political divisions and declining trust in democracy are spreading across the continent. To this end, the project examines the current state of democracy in learning environments across Europe, generating a strong evidence base for participatory democratic curriculum design. As part of this research goal, the project includes 10 case studies developed in 10 European countries, aimed at exploring young people’s perceptions of everyday democracy in challenging contexts. In this communication, we will report on the design and outcomes of the case study that took place in a public training and placement program (so called PFI) in Barcelona, Spain. The program is designed for young people aged between 16 and 21 who have not completed compulsory secondary education. The main aim of this program is to offer these students basic training to access the labour market and, eventually, help them in returning to the regulated education system. The case study comprises: 1) a focus group with 10 participants aged between 16 and 18; 2) 5 interviews with teachers and educators involved in the program; and 3) a short ethnographic analysis through researchers’ diaries. Both the focus group and the interviews were guided by semi-structured prompts, focusing on participants' experiences and reflections regarding their perceptions of being young, their relations with the institutions, their experiences about democracy and participation and their perspectives regarding their future. The outcome of the study contributes to the existing literature by offering insights into the lived experiences and perspectives of marginalised young individuals regarding democracy in their everyday lives. Furthermore, by entering in dialogue with the case studies carried out with other groups of youth in Critical ChangeLab, it helps to construct a landscape of voices who are often at the margin of decision-making and democratic practices.

Cammaerts, B., Bruter, M., Banaji, S., Harrison, S., & Anstead, N. (2014). The myth of youth apathy: Young Europeans’ critical attitudes toward democratic life. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(5), 645-664. Carratalà Puertas, L., & Frances Garcia, F. J. (2017). Youth and expectations on democracy in Spain: The role of individual human values structure of young people in dimension of democracy. Partecipazione e Conflitto, 9(3), 777-798. Grassi, E. F. G., Portos, M., & Felicetti, A. (2023). Young People's Attitudes towards Democracy and Political Participation: Evidence from a Cross-European Study. Government and Opposition, 1-23. Johnson, L., & Morris, P. (2010). Towards a framework for critical citizenship education. The curriculum journal, 21(1), 77-96. Simó-Gil, N., & Gelis, J. F. (2018). Ampliar la participación democrática del alumnado en los centros educativos¿ Es posible?. Voces de la Educación, 3-10.

This paper discusses the application of the framework of critical literacies developed by the research partners on the EU-funded ‘Critical ChangeLab: Democracy Meets Arts’ project (hereafter ‘Critical ChangeLab’) in educational settings in Ireland. Critical ChangeLabs respond to calls to reinvent and reinvigorate creative democracy in the everyday lives of young people (Dewey, 1939; Bernstein, 2000). They are a scalable model of democratic pedagogy for use in formal and non-formal learning environments, which use transdisciplinary arts and science practices (Mejias et al., 2021) to engage youth (11-18 years) with issues across human and more-than-human relationships. Using the first iteration of Critical ChangeLabs in Ireland as a case study, the paper will examine the iways that critical literacies can facilitate transformative learning processes that support individuals' civic engagement across a range of settings. The framework of critical literacies defines dimensions of learning required to develop these critical literacies in participants. It was created following a systematic literature review of critical literacies frameworks developed and used in educational settings with young people. At a time when post-truth paradigms influence the ways in which education is understood and enacted critical literacies are more important and relevant than ever (Pandya et al., 2022). The first iteration of the Critical ChangeLab in Ireland took place in an informal education (youth work) setting with young people (11-18 years) experiencing disadvantage. The Critical ChangeLab used participatory, creative and critical approaches to facilitate exploration of ideas about community and identity. This was particularly pertinent as the young people live in an urban area undergrowing rapid demographic expansion and change. The Critical ChangeLab incorporated historical and cultural perspectives, and the young people created artistic interventions around concepts of inclusion and belonging. Our paper will discuss how the application of the framework of critical literacies in a Critical ChangeLab setting strengthens democratic society through the promotion of the competences identified in the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (2016).  Our analysis underscores the significant potential of applying our critical literacies framework in Critical ChangeLab settings to foster transformative agency, encourage youth ownership of everyday democracy, and imagining alternative futures. As the Critical ChangeLab is a scalable model, application of the framework has the potential to strengthen democracy education on issues of global significance and democratic process in any formal or non-formal learning environments.

Bernstein, Richard J. “Creative Democracy: The Task Still Before Us”. American Journal of Theology & Philosophy, 21, no. 3, September 2000, pp. 215-228. DOI: 27944123. Dewey, John (1939). “Creative Democracy: The Task Before Us”. John Dewey and the Promise of America, Progressive Education Booklet, no. 14, 1939, American Education Press. Mejias, Sam, Naomi Thompson, Raul Mishael, Mark Rosin, Elisabeth Soep, Kylie Peppler, Joseph Roche, Jen Wong, Mairéad Hurley, Philip Bell, Bronwyn Bevan. “The trouble with STEAM and why we use it anyway”. Science Education, 105, no. 2, March 2021, pp. 209-231. DOI: 10.1002/sce.21605. Pandya, Jessica Zacher, Raul Alberto Mora, Jennifer Helen Alford, Noah Asher Golden, Robert Santiago de Roock (eds.). The Handbook of Critical Literacies. Routledge: London, 2022. Reference Framework for Competences of Democratic Culture”. Council of Europe, 2016.