Introduction
This module focuses on the relationship of the philanthropic, nonprofit sector, to democracy as a form of government. Several key ideas underlying democracy are discussed, these ideas are actualized in the nonprofit sector. In addition, this section describes how organizations in the independent sector relate to democracy.

Freedom and responsibility,
liberty and duty.
That’s the deal.
John Gardner

PRINT VERSION

What does a democratic citizen look like?

One challenge educators face as they attempt to teach democratic principles is the definition of these characteristics. As discussed in the article “Educating the ‘Good’ Citizen: Political Choices and Pedagogical Goals” by Joel Westhimer (Universtiy of Ottawa) and Joseph Kahne (Mills College), the characteristics demonstrating these principles vary. Some consider liberal notions of freedom to be at the helm, while others promote equal opportunity or equality. For some, the idea of a good citizen includes volunteerism and for others it includes working for a campaign or protesting. As quoted from the article:

“For many educators, making the case for democracy and the important role schools have in pursuing it is not difficult…One of the biggest areas of growth has been in the area of service learning and community service. Such practices have been marketed in large part through claims that they can respond to the civic mission of schools.”

The authors researched 10 programs aimed to teach democratic citizenship. To communicate the diverse perspectives found, three categories were identified: Personally Responsible Citizen, Participatory Citizen, and Justice-Oriented Citizen. Examine the table below to learn the description of each category, as well as a sample action and the core assumptions.

Kinds of Citizens
	Personally Responsible Citizen	Participatory Citizen	Justice-Oriented Citizen
	Acts responsibly in his/her community Works and pays taxes Obeys laws Recycles, gives blood Volunteers to lend a hand in times of crisis	Active member of community organizations and/or improvement efforts Organizes community efforts to care for those in need, promote economic development, or clean up environment Knows how government agencies work Knows strategies for accomplishing collective tasks	Critically assesses social, political, and economic structures to see beyond surface outcomes Seeks out and addresses areas of injustice Knows about social movements and how to effect systemic change
	Contributes food to a food drive	Helps to organize a food drive	Explores why people are hungry and acts to solve root causes
	To solve social problems and improve society, citizens must have good character; they must be honest, responsible, and law-abiding members of the community	To solve social problems and improve society, citizens must actively participate and take leadership positions within established systems and community structures	To solve social problems and improve society, citizens must question and change established systems and structures when they reproduce patterns of injustice over time

As mentioned in the article, the majority of these school-based programs promote citizenship but not politics; “they often promote service but not democracy.” They all agree on the importance of charity and volunteerism but do not teach about “social movements, social transformation, and systemic change.” In fact, it is argued that students are instead learning that citizenship and democracy does not involve politics.

The authors urge educators to ask the difficult questions regarding the values connected to democratic principles. They also ask that the programs considered for the classroom be carefully chosen, noting that “the choices we make have consequences for the kind of society we ultimately help to create.”

http://www.democraticdialogue.com/DDpdfs/WestheimerKahnePS.pdf