The challenge of democratic education for educational research. An overview

Both the United Nation and the Council of Europe acknowledge the necessity to “educate for democracy” and encourage research in implementing models and good practice in public education. As a matter of fact, this appears as an emerging narrative, which runs parallel to the narrative of “democratic education” developed during the 20th century through a series of experiences and practices mainly external to the public school system of that century, both in Europe and in other countries. Both narratives are situated within a complex economic and socio-political scenario as well as a context featuring an intense cultural debate on the nature and meaning of democracy in times of “anxiety,” “disaffection, and “distress.” Moreover, the educational discourse unfolds through the highlighting of a series of problematic issues that must be explored in all their interconnections, engaging academic research with a cultural, political and social challenge: “Securing democracy through education.” This implies the interconnection of different forms of discourse and different narratives which are currently unfolding separately, as well as of different dimensions (cultural, political, practical), according to an interdisciplinary frame of reference which goes beyond the epistemological barriers still existing among different “academic tribes and territories.”