Abstract
One of the most notable aspects of democracy in schooling lies in the challenge of schools to prepare individuals with the skills to participate and deliberate with others who have varying beliefs and worldviews. Deliberation and dialogue are seen as core components for academic achievement and cross-cultural connections between English language learners (ELLs) and native English speakers. I analyze the notion of deliberative democracy in English language education as a way to promote a certain type of education that would foster ELL inclusion as well as expand the perspectives of native English speakers. I argue that this type of education would not only foster inclusion in the classroom but also prepare ELLs for meaningful democratic participation. By examining the role of deliberation in creating democratic classrooms, alternative ways of knowing become more evident as teachers raise their awareness about the ways that culture and language play out in everyday life and academic work.
Response to this Article
Jarrod Hanson, Giving Power Its Due: The Powerful Possibilities and the Problems of Power with Deliberative Democracy and English Language Learners
Response to this Article
Esperanza De La Vega, Deliberative Democracy: A Contested Interactive Space
Recommended Citation
Liggett, T.
(2014).
Deliberative Democracy in English-Language Education: Cultural and Linguistic Inclusion in the School Community.
Democracy and Education,
22
(2), Article 4.
Available at:
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol22/iss2/4
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons