Purpose: Lave and Wenger's Communities of Practice is presented as a conceptual framework for examining extracurricular activities as a part of democratic schools' contribution to students' civic engagement. Data from the IEA Civic Education Study is analyzed to investigate research questions on the association between participation in two civic…

The research urgency is caused by the increase of social responsibility of universities for improvement of the quality of higher education and development of students' socio-professional values. In terms of the conflicting realities of modern society the youth policy at the University is the most important tool to form students' commitment to…

We argue that social network analysis is a useful methodology to study and to extend scholarly knowledge on learning through legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice. We first review work on legitimate peripheral participation and show that research on this topic currently focuses on the adoption of practices. Then we…

Building active and informed citizens is a major part of civics and citizenship education in order to enhance and sustain democracies. Civic learning and civic action opportunities within school contexts are commonly claimed to promote an active and informed citizenry. In the present research, we examine the meaning of formal civics education and…

This paper analyses whether the gender-sensitive and democratically elected student councils helped in strengthening school leadership and providing a platform for increased awareness and advocacy for male and female students to address their needs and rights in primary and secondary schools in Tanzania. The data were collected through qualitative…

Each secondary school in South Africa is legally obliged to establish a representative council of learners, a democratically elected, learner-only council. This article looks at how the representative councils of learners are realised in practice in four secondary schools. Three research questions focus on the practice of representative councils…

This article critically examines pupil councils as a means of developing pupils' citizenship participation. It draws on findings across two research projects. The first study is a mixed method study commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) that reviews the range of participatory activities in Scottish schools and their contribution to…

Citizenship education has evolved substantially in recent decades, with a rapid proliferation of education forms and approaches. The currently available evaluation studies, however, do not allow us to determine what kind of approach can be considered as a best practice for schools and education systems. In this article, we rely on the results of a…

This article explores the power of student voice, in recognition of the child's right to be treated as a capable, competent social actor involved in the education process. In this study, student voice is considered in the light of improving students' engagement and personal and social development at the primary school level. It emphasizes the…

This survey of 370 recent high school graduates reveals that history and citizenship courses in Quebec focus on cultural and religious viewpoints, favour a transmission approach to learning, and fail to connect the political process to students' concerns and interests. Without a clear conception of citizenship as a reference point, this curriculum…

This study uses the socially responsible leadership and leadership efficacy scales in the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) to examine leadership programs at one Catholic campus, and their influence on socially responsible leadership and leadership efficacy. Examining students that identified as involved in 14 campus leadership…

Student involvement is encouraged at contemporary colleges and universities. Involvement in student organizations can assist with academic and social integration, as well as retention. One way for students to become involved is through student government associations. As student government members, students participate in the governance process at…

General education requirements are a cornerstone of the U.S. system of higher education, making up approximately 30 percent of the average undergraduate degree program (Brint, Proctor, Murphy, Turk-Bicakci, & Hanneman, 2009). While there appears to be a consensus among U.S. educators and employers that general education is a valuable component…

The current era of American discourse and dialogue is increasingly characterized as becoming less civilized. This lack of civility, whether real or perceived, negatively impacts our ability as a society to address our most wicked problems. The vast majority of students pursuing undergraduate degrees today seem blissfully unaware of the problems…

This research has been designed because it has been realized that there is only little research carried out about the student participation in the administration for the structuring of the democratic authority in the higher education system in Turkey. In the relevant literature, concepts of democratic authority and education have been approached…