Does Democratic Governance Require Civic Education?
It is known that there is a high correlation between education and politics, but do democratic citizens in these global times need more than just their everyday education in order to get involved into politics? Most of the states nowadays are considered democratic, which means they are ruled by the people or by representatives chosen by the people. The question is however, do people really know what is best for them and the state without any political education, or does democratic governance require civic education? In this essay I will argue that civic education is crucial for a democratic state to function well and its citizen to make right decisions. Firstly democracy will be defined, the importance of education will be outlined and a relation between the two will the drawn. Secondly civic education will be defined and it’s impacts on political personal opinions and importance of public decision will be shown. Thirdly it will be shown how classroom behaviour and class activities can teach us about the importance of debate and compromises. Then the issue of the youth will be tackled, its involvement in politics and the spread of information. Finally the arguments will be put together to once more show why civic education is necessary for a democracy. Concluding with the confirmation of the argument that states that a democratic governance does require civic education because through such education citizens learn about their government, and achieve a better understanding of the politics in general hence being able to make better decisions.
Democracy comes from the Greek words “demos” and “kratos” which mean people and rule. Therefore the dictionary definition of democracy is “Government by the people; that form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole, and is exercised either directly by them or by officers elected by them”. From the definition we can understand that the people, the citizens of a democratic state assume
Democracy comes from the Greek words “demos” and “kratos” which mean people and rule. Therefore the dictionary definition of democracy is “Government by the people; that form of government in which the sovereign power resides in the people as a whole, and is exercised either directly by them or by officers elected by them”. From the definition we can understand that the people, the citizens of a democratic state assume
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