Democratic Citizenship
A Task for European Higher Education?
| The prevailing view of the purposes of higher education is of economic utility. Higher education has several missions, however, and its role in developing democratic citizenship has now been established within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). After a brief excursion into terminology, this article details the gradual acceptance of the democratic mission of higher education within the European Higher Education Area. It then explores two key aspects of this mission, developing competences for democratic cultures, and developing the role of higher education institutions and students as actors in democratic society. This supports a view of democracy that looks beyond institutions and laws to a set of attitudes and behaviours that make democratic laws and institutions function in practice. |
Login
