Education in and for Democracy in Spain: Teacher Testimonies

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to document the difficulties faced by teachers in Spain, since the General Education Law of 1970, in implementing education in and for democracy under the conceptual paradigm of the common good. This issue is explored from three perspectives: legislation, the relationship between school and society, and classroom methodologies. A qualitative approach was employed, based on interviews from which testimonies were collected from nine teachers in basic education. The results show the teachers’ interest in providing education in democratic values and the obstacles they face in achieving this objective, a result of a separation between the political and sociocultural purposes of education, the influence of each ideological context, and a failure to understand education as a common good.

Keywords

• citizenship education
• democracy
• teaching testimonies