Democracy, education, and economics

This paper examines the connections between democracy and
education, particularly as it concerns economics. We adopt a pluralist
proceduralist view of democracy, and argue that this requires a view of
individuals as active decision-makers able to deliberate and reflect on their
different ideas and opinions - a view not available to mainstream economics
with its preference-based view of the individual. The paper examines the nature
of learning and its implications for teaching, and then applies this to economics
education. An important aspect of this is students’ exploration of their values.
We argue this approach requires a pluralist educational philosophy.