Democratic Citizenship Education and its Implementation in Schools: Evaluating Educational Policy in the State of Lower Saxony, Germany

Schools are regarded as essential places for educating democratic citizens, and academic and public discourses pay increasing attention to the role of schools in good citizenship and resilient democratic systems. Several global crises have put significant pressure on democratic systems, prompting a renewed emphasis on the importance of education to navigate rising uncertainties and to support democratic values. Against the backdrop of populist and authoritarian movements, democratic citizenship education is also viewed as a possible solution to the rise of populism and illiberal movements that threaten established democracies. Nevertheless, the challenge remains for policymakers in determining how educational processes, which depend on the collaboration between schools and teachers’ practices, can be effectively designed. While this is also the case in Germany, a notable example of changing education policy in Germany is a decree issued by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, which calls on schools to develop strategies, projects, and initiatives to integrate democratic citizenship education into all subjects and institutionalize democratic processes within schools. This decree illustrates a policy attempt to foster the development of democratic and resilient citizens. However, the effectiveness of policy measures such as the decree in Lower Saxony has not been extensively studied. This paper presents the first insights on this question from the Democracy Education in Schools (DeBiS) study. The DeBiS study investigates the impact of the decree on democratic citizenship education in Lower Saxony, examining its effects on teachers’ beliefs and practices, as well as their views on school development. Teachers from general and vocational schools at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of schooling are surveyed throughout Lower Saxony at multiple stages using standardized tools. This paper presents findings from the first round of surveys with over 2000 teachers. The analysis examines teachers’ views and practices regarding democratic education, their opinions on the educational decree, and the implementation of democratic processes in schools. Findings show awareness of the decree among teachers and that teachers of all subjects recognize democratic citizenship education as worthy of support. However, the majority of teachers are still relatively unfamiliar with the details of the decree, suggesting that democratic citizenship education is not yet fully implemented in schools. The paper concludes by exploring the potential role of political instruments in fostering democratic schools and educational processes. It also emphasizes the importance of teachers’ beliefs in the context of education for democratic citizenship.