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Higher Education and Democratic Citizenship

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Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions

Synonyms

Civic/citizenship education; Education for democratic citizenship and/or culture; Outreach and engagement; Public service; Social dimension; Third mission

Definition

The relationship between higher education and democratic citizenship enjoys much attention in contemporary debates addressing the changing role and function of universities. The issue, which stands in the front, is the questioning of the social function of the university in relation to the needs of modern democratic societies and their development, or in a more narrow scope, the role of higher education in the process of creating and empowering a citizen. In relation to the two traditional functions – teaching and research – the social function of higher education and its contribution to democratic citizenship appear in discussion as a very complex and sometimes contradictory issue, so that a unique definition cannot be given.

Democratic Citizenship as an “Archetypal Model” of the Modern University

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Pavel Zgaga

Authors
  1. Pavel Zgaga
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Correspondence to Pavel Zgaga .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Jung Cheol Shin

  2. CIPES, Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Teixeira

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Zgaga, P. (2016). Higher Education and Democratic Citizenship. In: Shin, J., Teixeira, P. (eds) Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_14-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_14-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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