Schools as restorative spaces for democratic citizenship education

The inception of desegregated schools has persistently been accompanied by sophisticated, exclusionary policies and practices, often masked by excuses of language, residential area, and fees. That a number of schools continue to employ dubious learner selection practices, is a concern that extends beyond the confines of school halls, and holds particularly worrisome implications for conceptions of democratic citizenship. On the one hand, is the obvious tension and seeming juxtaposition between school choice and learner selection. On the other hand, is the reduction of learner selection to racial discrimination. This article has a twofold interest: what is necessary for schools to shift their policies and practices of learner selection, so that they make a foundational contribution to democratic citizenship education, rather than undermining it? How might schools better position themselves as the custodians of democratic citizenship education, so that they play a restorative role