THE PARTICIPATION AS AN ELEMENT KEY ON DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS

Abstract

On the 20th anniversary of the passing of Paulo Freire, in this article we highlight a central feature of his pedagogical thinking: his conviction that education can make a contribution to the development of democratic subjects and eventually to the construction of a more just and democratic society. Freire used to say that education does not change the world but it changes people who are going to change the world. Thus, it is possible to argue that education does not democratize society but can nurture more democratic people who are going to build more democratic societies. This relationship between the micro-level (nurturing democratic citizens) and the macro-level (building more democratic societies) can be mediated, at the meso-level, by the democratization of educational institutions and systems. This paper addresses these relationships, and is organized into five sections. The first describes Freire’s theoretical and practical contributions in relation to the democratizing project. The second analyzes the connections between democracy, participation and civic education. The third explores student participation in schools. The fourth examines participatory school budgets, and the last section presents a summary and preliminary conclusions.