10653 Democracy and Education: The Ideological Dimension

Credits: 3 intermediate credits in Political Science or in Education

Prerequisites: none

Recommended: Introduction to Political Thought; Introduction to Sociology; Democracies and Dictatorships: Comparative Politics1

The course is based on a reader edited by Dan Sachs.

The course focuses on various approaches to human nature as the foundation of political and educational philosophy; discusses the contradictions in the principles of democratic philosophy and between education as control and education as the development of independence and creativity. It also examines the mutual relations between democratic and pedagogical values; between norms of democratic regimes and educational practice; the relations between democracy and education, and striving for peace. The course develops the student’s ability to contend with contradictory logic in democracy and education.

Topics: Human nature – a point of origin; Individual and society; “The good society”; Democracy, peace and education; Between society and education; Education to democracy; Communication, democracy and education; Case study – the future of education to democracy in Israel.

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1or Democracies and Dictatorships: Ideas, Contexts, Regimes (10660, 3 cr.) which is no longer offered.