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Description
According to the PISA 2018 Survey, nearly half of pupils in Lithuanian schools do not feel part of the community, nor that they can influence school decisions.
The project “Democratic Education-Based Practices in Lithuanian Schools” aims to implement democratic education-based practices that teach students civic education through daily practice in school, so that students can experience real democratic process of decision-making.
The goal of the project is to create a civilly active society by implementing the principles of democratic education in Lithuanian schools. Objectives of the project:
1) to introduce democratic education-based practices in schools that would enable students to become active members of the school community;
2) to create conditions for students to "play out" the principles and processes of democratic society by participating in an educational MINI city game;
3) to share civic education best practices with Lithuanian educators and parents.
The main target group of the project is children aged 7-16, as well as educators, school administrators, parents of pupils.
The project will implement the principles of democratic education (individual interview with class teacher, class meeting, school meeting, justice committee) in at least 20 Lithuanian schools. Students will be able to "play" the principles and processes of democracy in MINI city, where children will be the creators of the city. In this city, the children will create their own city government, they will be able to make money and spend it – in a shop, cafe or theater in the city. The lessons learned from the project and the results achieved will be presented at two national conferences on democratic education, aiming to show how civic education can be implemented through daily practice and that civic awareness is much closer to us all, starting with active participation in small daily public decisions.
Summary of project results
The project “Democratic Education-Based Practices in Lithuanian Schools” aimed to implement democratic education-based practices that teach students civic education through daily practice in school, so that students can experience real democratic process of decision making and see how even small decisions can affect community life. The goal of the project was to create a civically active society by implementing the principles of democratic education in Lithuanian schools.
To achieve this goal, 20 Lithuanian schools have introduced practices based on democratic education principles, which helped pupils become active members of the school community;opportunity for pupils to play with the principles and processes of democracy by participating in an educational game in MINI City were created; good practices of civic education with Lithuanian teachers and parents were shared through the information campaign and manual on the principles of democratic education.
Students of the participating schools became better informed about principles of democratic engagement and how they can affect certain decisions at school.
Teachers and administration of schools gained knowlegde and understanding on the benefits of democracratic education principles, how these principles could be implemented in the public schools
General public was informed on the importance of the democratic education, how it is important to experience democracy from the early age.