Populist challenges to democratic education

“Populism” is a much used but still rather vague term employed mostly in political but also in educational discourses. To understand what is meant by “populist challenges to democratic education” this chapter first analyzes the historical relations between liberal democracy and public education. I then refer to a discussion of “populism” using a social-political definition of the term that was coined by American sociologist Edward Shils. This is followed by a discussion of populist changes in public discourse and education created by new media. My main focus is on the populist challenges to systems education systems and the challenges of populist positions in education itself. Finally, I will suggest the perspectives that remain for democratic education.