Mission Statement

The Education for Democracy Group is an independent collaborative of concerned educators who share a common interest in promoting education for democracy. We are teachers, students, teacher educators, and researchers brought together by common concerns about educational equity and excellence for all. Representing a variety of viewpoints on educational reform, members of this group are bound by the idea that meaningful education is active, multicultural, critical, caring, academically rigorous, participatory, and empowering. This view of education draws attention to the roles schools and school workers might play as agents for a more socially just society. Such a vision also stands in favor of educational policy that unites students, brings together schools and their communities, recognizes the complexity of teaching and learning in unique contexts, and helps all members of society acquire the understandings and tools to effectively frame and carry out their own life purposes.

The Education for Democracy Group works for the democratization of educational purpose and practice in several different ways, such as by taking political action, reconsidering curriculum, supporting research, and publicizing and coordinating many of the activities in support of democratic education already taking place in the UGA College of Education. The success of these efforts depends on the energy, commitment, and talents of a diverse group of people willing to work collaboratively towards a democratic future for schooling. Drawn together by a shared concern for the democratization of education, the group welcomes and works to promote a free exchange of ideas about achieving this aim. The Education for Democracy group invites all to join them in promoting education that is authentic, joyful, and rooted in a participatory vision of a just and democratic society.