Date of Award

2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Philosophy in Education (MPhil Ed.)

First Advisor

Dr Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta

Department

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Abstract

In the 21st century, one of the prominent concepts emphasised in education is democratic education, which highlights the requirement for participative environments to engage students. Dewey argued that a democratic society requires active, participatory, contributory citizens; hence, he proposed that education must develop such important skills among learners. School as an institution can inculcate democratic experiences and values in children from all socio-economic backgrounds, especially through social studies. However, the gap between democratic education ideals and actual classroom practice is most apparent in social studies classes, which stand to create civic-minded and socially aware citizens. This study set out to address this gap by conducting a cross-sectional survey in Karachi to explore elementary school students’ views about democratic practices in their social studies classrooms. Their responses were collected across four constructs: freedom, equality, communication and engagement. The democratic classroom practices questionnaire (DCPQ) was adapted and found reliable for the study sample. DCPQ was administered directly to 509 students. Mean scores and agreement percentages were used to present their perceived level of democratic classroom practices. To compare their views across the school system and genders, an independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were employed. The findings reveal that students found a good level of democracy in their classrooms across all constructs. Upon comparison of school systems and genders, public schools and girls were found to be outperforming private schools and boys, respectively. This study has implications for policy, practice, and further research.

First Page

1

Last Page

97

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