Crafting responsive education for democracy in uncertain times

This paper explores the question of whether, and if so how, education systems, policies and practices should respond to historical, current or potential future threats to democracy. Drawing on historical, contemporary and predicted challenges to democracy within the Irish context, the paper considers the responses of educational policy, of civil society actors, of schools and teachers, and of children and young people themselves. The paper pays a particular focus to education in the context of historical political violence, education in the context of right-wing extremism, and education in the context of climate breakdown. It considers how past, present and future threats to democracy may shape the provision of a responsive education for democracy, which meets the needs of all children in Irish classrooms as they grapple with challenges to their human rights and their wider democratic societies.