Danish Education Fosters Young Super-Democrats

A new democracy barometer shows that no country in the world is more democratic than Denmark. According to another recent study, young Danes are world champions in democratic thinking. What is the connection?

Study in Denmark editorial

Denmark has the highest quality of democracy in the world. This is the conclusion of a new democracy barometer developed by German and Swiss researchers.

The barometer compares thirty well-established democracies on nine accounts: the protection of personal freedom; the rule of law; an active citizenship; a system of checks and balances; transparency; political representation; participation; competition and the ability to implement democratic decisions.

Denmark's top position is consistent with its ranking as one of the most equal and least corrupt countries in the world. It also ties in well with the overall confidence that Danes have in their political system and key decision makers. What's more, a recent international study shows that key features of democracy are encouraged through the Danish way of teaching.

Let´s agree to perhaps disagree
The International Civic and Citizenship education Study (ICCS) has mapped the democratic understanding among more than 140.000 students in 38 countries. The survey shows that Danish students are superior in terms of democratic thinking and citizenship. It also shows that students in Denmark experience an open and anti-authoritarian learning environment where they can comfortably express their opinions.

One of the researchers behind the study, Professor Jens Bruun from the Danish School of Education at Aarhus University, says that the findings fit well with an overall goal of teaching in Denmark: to enable students to consider different perspectives and form their own opinions. This emphasis on critical thinking is cultivated through a learning environment with room for debate and disagreement.

“Any classroom teaching citizenship will always to some degree be based on the idea that students must learn to adapt to society's values. In Denmark, students learn not only about society's values and democratic principles, but also to question the basic assumptions underlying them”, says Jens Bruun.

Educating young super-democrats
According to Jens Bruun, the critical thinking dimension in Danish education is very important for democracy. By encouraging young people to relate critically to society, they essentially learn to take responsibility for their own rights and duties in society. In this way, schools practice democracy in the actual act of teaching.

“There is a world of difference between a teacher who enters the classroom, runs through a curriculum and says 'thank you for today' – and one who encourages students to discuss and critically process the material presented to them. The latter prepares students to deal constructively with real-life dilemmas and conflicting interest”, says Jens Bruun.

As such, the teaching approach in Danish schools serves as a cradle for democracy in Denmark. In fact, the Danish Primary Education Act states that schools should promote intellectual freedom, equality and democracy. However, Jens Bruun points out that the democracy in the world outside of school also plays an important role in promoting young democratic minds:

"As young people inherit their values from home, from school and from interacting with society, they too will eventually pass on their values to the next generation. As such, democracies arise from below and develop over time. They are in essence a way of life”.

Democratic minds key to innovation and rewarding jobs
Like knowledge, democratic societies expand from a synthesis of different perspectives. And like any democracy, a society based on knowledge will always encourage participation, discussion and collaboration.

Collaboration is also a key feature of higher education in Denmark as students work creatively with new knowledge through project work, where they often take on real-life problems. To Danish students, this is essentially a continuation of the way of studying that they are accustomed to. But to some international students it may require a transition period as they learn to engage in group discussions, manage their own academic focus, and practice the skills of collaborative project work.

According to Mette Reebirk, head of the international office at Roskilde University, higher education in Denmark can be challenging to international students as they adapt to receiving credit for asking innovative questions rather than for reproducing existing knowledge. They may feel that they are putting their ignorance on public display. But ultimately they benefit, because they become extremely adept at linking knowledge in new ways. As stated by Mette Reebirk:

”We once had some Chinese students at Roskilde University who eventually all got great jobs in US companies. When I later spoke to them they told me that studying at Roskilde was decisive in getting them the jobs, because they didn’t feel like one in a billion, but as someone who could come up with truly original answers”. And according to Mette Reebirk, this kind of skill is highly valued in a globalized society where information is readily available but the real challenge is to apply it in novel ways:

“International companies look for creative people who can truly think for themselves, collaborate and jointly develop innovative solutions. And these are key features of higher education in Denmark”.

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ABOUT ICCS

The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) is an international comparative study conducted by The International Association
for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

The ICSS looks at the impact of globalization on political education in the 21st century. That is, students' understanding of democratic principles, cultural values, national identity and individual values and attitudes.

The study is based on more than 140,000 students from more than 5,300 schools in 38 countries and information from approximately 60,000 teachers and 5,000 school principals.