Can Schools Teach Democracy?

Abstract

There is widespread assumption that the school is capable of successfully bringing about any form of learning. As a result, current clamouring for transition to democratic form of government, especially in developing countries have led to additional responsibility and expectations from the school system. The slow pace of progress and outright failure of democratization efforts in these countries have in turn led to the accusation of irrelevance on the schools. This paper examines the logic of the assumptions inherent in this debate, the limits and possibilities of schooling as well as the interface of education and democracy. The paper concludes by submitting that if education is to serve as a program of action, certain pre-requisites must of necessity be present, and that even then, success is not automatic.