Centre for Applied Research in Education

All things considered

the views of adolescents in vocational education on competing democratic values

Article

The views young people have towards democratic values shape their views in later life. However, the values that are fundamental to democracy, such as majority rule and minority rights, are often competing. This study aims to provide insight into the ways adolescents view democratic issues in which democratic values are competing.

To complete this study, three democratic issues with varying conditions were designed, and discussed during interviews with students in vocational education.

The results show that most adolescents consider both democratic values that underlie an issue. Furthermore, as the conditions in which the issues take place were altered during the interviews, adolescents explicitly evaluated different perspectives and starting shifting between both values. The findings of this study show that adolescents’ views on democratic issues are layered, and include considering multiple democratic values and taking account of the conditions in which these are situated.

Reference Vaessen, A., Daas, R., & Nieuwelink, H. (2022). All things considered: the views of adolescents in vocational education on competing democratic values. Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 21(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/20471734211050290
Published by  Centre for Applied Research in Education 1 January 2022

Publication date

Jan 2022

Author(s)

Annabel Vaessen
Remmert Daas

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