Democratic legitimacy in governance of education: Legal versions of an educative democracy in primary and secondary education

Gijsbert Leertouwer

Research output: PhD ThesisPhD-Thesis - Research and graduation internal

360 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study uses the political connotation of democracy in constitutional contexts as an instrument to clarify the democratic legitimacy of the governance of education. The author concludes that the current legislation on participation and good governance falls short of the four notions of democratic legitimacy comprised in this study. It is true that in recent years more attention has been paid to democratic legitimacy, but there are still fundamental flaws in legislation. Democratic deficiencies still exist in foundations, whereas associations mainly face democratic duplications due to education legislation. The problems in current legislation are so fundamental that adjustments are necessary. With regard to the position of parents the path of participation seems a dead end. This study mentions four versions of an educative democracy that, to a decreasing degree, comply with the notions of democratic legitimacy: 1. mandatory educative democracy in public and private education; 2. mandatory educative democracy in private education; 3. voluntary educative democracy; 4. educative democracy in current legal forms. The first three variants are based on an association form with mandatory membership of all parents. Following the teleological interpretation method in this study this structure can be considered a present-day operationalization of the intention of the constitutional legislator. On present showing an educative democracy is not a solution for the problems of legitimacy in a socio-cultural sense, but it is a necessary condition for legal-political legitimacy.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationPhD
Awarding Institution
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Laemers, Miek, Supervisor
  • Huisman, P.W.A., Supervisor, -
Award date9 Apr 2021
Place of PublicationDen Haag
Publisher
Print ISBNs9789462908925
Electronic ISBNs9789089744937
Publication statusPublished - 9 Apr 2021

Keywords

  • governance of education, democratization, legitimacy, participation, freedom of education

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Democratic legitimacy in governance of education: Legal versions of an educative democracy in primary and secondary education'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this