Nonviolent Action as a Necessary Component in Educating for Democracy

Educating for democracy, seen within a liberal democratic framework, requires that students develop the requisite knowledge and skills to recognize injustice and work eff ectively to oppose it. Stitzlein’s notion of dissent is examined in conjunction with Kahne and Westheimer’s argument for teaching democratic capacities by actively engaging students in addressing real world problem. Th is paper fur-ther suggests that for active dissent to lead to real change, we must extend our notion of dissent to include the knowledge and skills to infl uence the balance of power. Teaching students for democracy requires teaching them theory, history, and techniques of nonviolent action so they may be aptly empowered to play a vital role in the formulation, maintenance, and alteration of the rules and poli-cies of our society. Submit a response to this article Submit online at democracyeducationjournal.org/home Read responses to this article onlin