Experiencing Democracy in the Classroom: Building Democratic Learning Environments to Promote Civic Learning

This open access volume aims to support teachers with tools and examples of practices to facilitate democratic learning environments, strengthen civic learning, and foster students’ attitudes and engagement in the classroom. Schools are among the most relevant contexts for students to practice citizenship firsthand. By building democratic learning environments, schools provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop civic knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors and, ultimately, to experience democracy.

The first part of the book connects civic and citizenship education theory with classroom practice, explores how schools and communities can nurture citizenship education, and discusses insights from ICCS findings. The second part offers practical teaching strategies and examples from schools in Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Slovenia, with the aim of inspiring the development of democratic learning environments and promoting meaningful civic participation.

Valeria Damiani has a PhD in Education and is an Associate Professor at LUMSA University, Italy. She was a member of the Joint Management Committee for the second and third cycle of the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) in 2016 and 2022. She is currently part of the working group on quality citizenship education within the European Space for Citizenship Education (ESCE) promoted by the Council of Europe.