Fakultät für Erziehungswissenschaft
Fakultätfür Erziehungswissenschaft
DeiKi Research Results
13. Februar 2023, von Kristie Jakob
Foto: B. Sturzenhecker
Democracy Education in German Early Childhood Education Institutions
Nach einem fünfjährigen Herausgabeprozess erschien nun unser Artikel zur Demokratiebildung in Kindertageseinrichtungen in Deutschland. Er fasst unsere Forschungen zum Thema zusammen und ordnet sie in den internationalen Diskurs ein:
Richter, Elisabeth/Lehmann, Teresa/Sturzenhecker, Benedikt:: Empirical Research Results. In: Spannring, Reingard/Smidt, Wilfried/Unterrainer, Christine (Eds.): Institutions and Organizations as Learning Environments for Participation and Democracy. Opportunities, Challenges, Obstacles. P. 39-65. Springer Nature: Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17949-5.
Abstract
This article presents theoretical assumptions, methodological approaches, and conclusions of a 3-year qualitative study investigating children’s democratic participation in early childhood education centres. The results are discussed from an international perspective and thus linked to an international discourse on democratic education.
Following John Dewey and Jürgen Habermas in their concepts of democratic education and democracy, the research project was designed to accompany six nurseries that had structured their democratic practice through ‘constitutions’ according to the concept, ‘the nursery of democracy’ (Hansen R, Knauer R, Sturzenhecker B. Partizipation in Kindertageseinrichtungen. So gelingt Demokratiebildung mit Kindern! [Participation in early childhood education institutions. This is how democracy education works with children!]. verlag das netz, Weimar, Berlin, 2011). The aim of the study was to learn how democratic participation has been implemented in the nurseries, how the children practice democracy, and how satisfied they are with the democratic practices. The results show an overall high level of democratic decision-making through committees, concrete rights, and procedures for children’s participation: Children can practice democracy in the ECE centres and are very engaged, i.e. satisfied, with it.
