Abstract
The interaction between emotions and politics is evident in democratic education settings. This study contributes to the literature on the role of political emotions in democratic education by shedding light on the significance that the new digital and social media environments have for the manifestation of political emotions in educational contexts. In Finnish schools, political issues are incorporated into the curriculum, and political questions are addressed as part of democratic education and political identities are formed. However, there has been relatively little research on political emotions in schools. This article explores political emotions in democratic education practice through an empirical case study in a Finnish upper secondary school. The data consists of observations in social studies classrooms and interviews with the students and the teachers. The study's key finding underscores the notion that the school environment is profoundly influenced by the contemporary virtual environment, characterized by the proliferation of new technologies and social media. In this study, the integration of virtual and nonvirtual along with public and nonpublic is referred to as "blended space." This blended space is a milieu where emotions and affect emerge, where social alignment and boundaries are formed, where identities are negotiated, and where the political materializes in today’s democratic education classrooms.
Response to this Article
Anniina Leiviskä and Veli-Mikko Kauppi, Affective alignment and hidden conflicts: Political emotions in blended spaces of democratic education classrooms.
Recommended Citation
Helkala, S.
().
Affective Alignment and Hidden Conflicts: Political Emotions in Blended Spaces of Democratic Education Classrooms.
Democracy & Education,
34
(1), Article 3.
Available at:https://doi.org/10.65214/2164-7992.1751