Educating for a plural democracy and citizenship – a report on practice
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Date
2012-09
Authors
Costandius, Elmarie
Rosochacki, Sophia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
This paper presents an argument for the relevance of education for critical global citizenship, with
reference to a graphic design module at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa as a case study.
The first part of the paper argues that tolerance, cultural diversity, democratic participation and social
cohesion are prerequisites for plural democracies. The second part argues that educational institutions,
as prominent organisational structures, have an obligation to address these social issues. It is argued that
addressing social inequality and developing conditions for democratic flourishing is particularly important
in the newly democratised South Africa. Consequently, particular attention is paid to the South African
higher education context. The paper then gives an account of an attempt at practically engaging university
students in these issues through the university curricula, describing, in terms of its form and content, the
above-mentioned graphic design module on critical global citizenship. Finally, it considers to what extent
the module has been successful in promoting attitudes of tolerance and social cohesion in a racially and
culturally mixed educational environment, using qualitative data collected from participants in the module,
and reflects on the ethical and practical challenges that critical ci tizenship education might face.
Description
Keywords
Critical citizenship, Pluralism, Social inequality, Cultural diversity, Social cohesion, Tolerance
Citation
Costandius, E., & Rosochacki, S. (2012). Educating for a plural democracy and citizenship-a report on practice. Perspectives in Education, 30(3), 13-20.