Democratic Education as Inclusion

Davids and Waghid have written a nuanced analysis of why we should eshew a politics of individualism in favour of a philosophy that puts community at the heart of citizenship education. They demonstrate how the concept of Ubuntu encompasses human dignity and respect and offers a foundation of solidarity to enable consensual modes of engagement which are foundational to democratic citizenship. Their grounding in the South African context has much to teach us internationally and is highly pertinent to the UK context.

This wonderful volume carefully weaves together different threads around race and ethnicity, gender, intersectionality, inclusion and equality to craft a persuasive and original philosophical contribution to the field. The resulting beauty of its tapestry shows how democratic citizenship education and cosmopolitan education are not mutually exclusive, but offer an original provocation for how we might inhabit the world. Its rich and timely scholarship has profound implications not only for our schools, universities, and for the field of philosophy of education, but also for how we express our own identity, and for how we give attentiveness to the other in all its otherness.

While democracy is idealised around the world, equal access to the rights and sense of belonging associated with democratic citizenship remains out of reach for many people living in democratic societies today. In Democratic Education as Inclusion, Davids and Waghid consider who is included and excluded and how in democratic spaces. Drawing on a wide range of thinkers, they create a richly layered account of how identity, belonging, inclusion, and exclusion are interwoven in public spaces. In so doing, they elucidate the critical need to rethink cherished concepts like democracy and equality and troublesome ideas about race, ethnicity, and gender, reaffirming the vital task of examining education as a site for greater social justice.