POLICY
RECOMMENDATIONS
ON CITIZENSHIP
EDUCATION FOR
SUSTAINABLE
EUROPEAN
DEMOCRACY
Deli e able D4.6
P ojec Ti le
G an Ag eemen No.
Democ acy mee s a s: c i ical change labs
o building democ a ic cul u es h ough
c ea i e and na a i e p ac ices
101094217
P ojec Ac onym
EC Call
C i ical ChangeLab
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-04
Wo k Package WP4: Sus ain
Wo k Package
Leade s Al e na i es Eu opéennes (ALTEREURO)
Deli e able Lead
Bene icia y Al e na i es Eu opéennes (ALTEREURO)
Con ac ual Deli e y
Da e 30.9.2025
Ac ual Deli e y Da e 30.9.2025
Delayed NO
Na u e R - Documen , epo
Dissemina ion Le el PU - Public
Pa ne (s)
con ibu ing o his
deli e able
Al e na i es Eu opéennes (ALTEREURO)
Au ho s Niccolo Milanese (ALTEREURO)
Con ibu o s OULU, TCD, UB, AE, KERSNIKOVA, LATRA, TT,
WAAG, ISRZ
Acknowledgmen s None
Re iewe s K is ijan Tkalec (Ke sniko a)
Building Democ a ic
Cul u es Th ough
C ea i e and
Na a i e P ac ice
KEY CONCEPTS
• E e yday Democ acy
• C i ical Consciousness
• Pa icipa i e
Democ a ic Heal h
• C ea i e echnological
en i onmen s
OPPORTUNITIES
AND TRENDS
• G ea e awa eness o
he alue and igh s o
non-human beings
• Connec ion o g een
agenda o o he opics
o social jus ice
• Mo e owa ds EU ech
so e eign y
• Inc eased public
awa eness o isks o
undemoc a ic online
media
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
EU
• Rela e e e yday democ a ic
expe iences o democ acy a la ge
• In ol e young people in c ea ing EU
echnological so e eign y
• In ol e young people in assessing
democ a ic heal h
• P omo e c i ical consciousness and
agency, in addi ion o li e acy
• Embed ci ic educa ion in o
pa icipa o y o ma s
• Go beyond STEM o STEAM,
including he a s
NATIONAL POLICY MAKERS
• B ing democ acy educa ion in o
e e y pa o he cu iculum
• T ain eache s ac oss disciplines o
each democ acy
FOR SCHOOLS
• Assess democ a ic heal h o
own-o ganisa ions
FOR EDUCATORS
• Emb ace co-c ea i e app oaches
o ci ic educa ion
C i ical ChangeLab is a Ho izon Eu ope
unded p ojec ha be ween 2022-2025 has
been de eloping educa ional
me hodologies o build a esilien Eu opean
democ acy, in a con ex o d ama ic
geopoli ical, social, echnological and
ecological challenges.
Th ough expe imen a ion wi h o e 80
g oups o young people be ween he ages o
12 and 18 in o e 11 EU coun ies, he p ojec
has de eloped ex ensi e knowledge abou
wha can wo k o p omo e democ a ic skills,
a i udes, disposi ions and compe ences
amongs young people.
The Eu opean Union as a whole, and i s
indi idual membe s a es, a e inc easingly
placing an emphasis on de ending
democ acy om bo h in e nal and ex e nal
ac o s seeking o unde mine i , and building
socie al esilience in a con ex o
geopoli ical con es a ion and plane a y
polyc isis.
Educa ion has a cen al ole in achie ing
hese objec i es, as has been
acknowledged by P esiden Von De Leyen in
he poli ical guidelines o he 2024
Eu opean Commission. Despi e his,
Commission s udies show ha he
educa ion sec o in gene al ac oss Eu ope
has su e ed one o he la ges d ops in
in es men o all public sec o s. Unde
s ess, democ a ic educa ion and
inno a i e app oaches o educa ion isk
losing ou .
Indeed, de elopmen o wha EU
policy-make s e e o as ‘Eu opean
ci izenship educa ion’ has o some ex en
aken a back sea in he mos ecen yea s,
a e a pe iod o compa a i e p ominence
om he Pa is decla a ion o 2015 h ough o
he immedia e pos -Co id pandemic
con ex o 2022.
INTRODUCTION
O e aken by geopoli ical and echnological
de elopmen s and in e nal di isions, he e is
cu en ly li le poli ical discussion o a
cohe en and holis ic Eu opean ci izenship
educa ion as such, and a he an ad-hoc
ocus on add essing speci ic h ea s.
P o iding cu ing edge insigh s om
p ac ice o upda e policy de elopmen s is
he e o e u gen .
Unde pinning he success ul app oaches o
educa ion o democ acy de eloped
h ough C i ical Change Labs a e
ans o ma i e app oaches o he opic o
democ acy i sel , o echnology, o he
en i onmen , o c ea i i y and ac i i y, o
ci izenship and poli ics and he connec ions
be ween all hese opics.
This policy documen seeks o explain hese
app oaches and dis inguish hem om
dominan app oaches unde lying much o
policy-making o e he p e ious pe iod, and
gi e ecommenda ions by which policy
make s, s akeholde s, educa o s and
ins i u ions can ein o ce he deep
democ a ic compe ences amongs young
people ha will enable hem o na iga e
con empo a y dynamics.
The ou ans o ma i e app oaches o
democ a ic educa ion ha his documen
will explain a e:
Based on hese app oaches, 10 policy
ecommenda ions o EU and na ional
s akeholde s, policy make s, educa ional
ins i u ions and educa o s a e p oposed.
E e yday
Democ acy C i ical
Consciousness
Pa icipa i e
Democ a ic
Heal h
C ea i e
echnological
en i onmen s
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
ON CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION
FOR SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY
The C i ical Change Labs model o
democ a ic educa ion o young people has
been de eloped by adap ing a model o
change in wo kplaces ha was success ully
de eloped and deployed in No way in he
1990s and has been used globally since in
wo k en i onmen s. As such, he me hod is
pa icula ly well sui ed o
1. o e coming he ba ie s be ween
oca ional, hands-on app oaches o
educa ion, and mo e ‘academic’,
heo e ical o concep ual app oaches o
lea ning
2. encou aging indi idual and collec i e
compe ences ha can na iga e change
and unce ain y democ a ically
3. adap able use in di e en con ex s and
en i onmen s, in which ocabula ies and
a icula ions o co e alues, his o ical
unde s andings, and a i udes owa ds
change may di e
This makes i pa icula ly sui able o
add essing educa ion challenges a
seconda y school le el in con empo a y
Eu ope in which
1. he e is an inc easing poli ical di ide and
b eakdown o unde s anding and
solida i y be ween people wi h uni e si y
educa ion and hose wi h mo e wo k
expe ience o oca ional aining
2. he speed and scale o social, economic,
en i onmen al and echnological change
and he isks and unce ain ies hese
p oduce can lead o disempowe men ,
anxie y and disenchan men .
3. The e a e in e nal poli ical di ides inside
o he Eu opean Union which make ‘one
size i s all’ policy solu ions on opics
ela ing o democ acy and iden i y
imp ac icable
THE CRITICAL CHANGE
LAB MODEL
The C i ical Change Labs model o
democ a ic educa ion inds p ac ical
ways o going beyond unde s anding
opics, iden i ying di e en poin s o iew
and e i ying ac ual in o ma ion o
challenging commonplaces. Beyond
hese aspec s o li e acy, he model
enables lea ne s o iden i y powe
dynamics and unde s and he his o y o
p oblems as a basis o inding collec i e
agency a an achie able and ele an
scale.
Ins ead o coming o lea ne s wi h a
p ees ablished idea o wha hey should
lea n abou , he ocabula ies hey should
use o discuss o analyse hose issues, o
ac ions hey should ake, he C i ical
Change Labs model s a s om wo king
wi h lea ne s o iden i y issues o
e e yday impo ance o hem (which
may ange om keeping he school idy,
o expe iences o acism, wo y abou he
plane , anxie y abou inding jobs,
addic ion o social media…), and
p o ides ac i i ies and o ma s by which
he backg ound, consequences, powe
dynamics and con adic ions in hose
issues can be b ough ou , wi h a iew o
inc easing he au onomy and capaci y o
lea ne s o ake ac ion.
UNDERSTANDING
The base le el o
comp ehnsion and
con ex ual knowledge
needed be o e he jou ney
o de eloping c i ical
li e acies can begin
IDENTIFYING
Recognising issues ha a e
c ea ing con lic and
con adic ions
DECONSTRUCTING
In e oga ion o he cul u al
cons uc ion o he "sou ce"
(e.g. ex , concep , objec ),
i s social and poli ical
con ex , and socie al
ans o ma ion.
Ge ing o he co e o issues in Ba celona
Gende ela ions and equali y o en eme ged as a
opic o majo conce n in CCLAB lea ne g oups in
esponse o he p omp ‘wha a e you eally ed up
abou ?’ Topics such as gende ela ed iolence,
sexism, eminism, and inequali ies we e equen ly
men ioned. In a Ba celona school, lea ne s aged 16-18
h ough a p ocess o i e a i e democ a ic co-c ea ion
in se e al cycles o discussion and o ing, deepened
he issue o inqui y, o wo k speci ically on a ec i e
esponsibili y, o how o beha e in ways ha do no
ha m o he people, bo h indi idually and collec i ely.
Educa o s exp essed su p ise ha he CCLABS
me hodology empowe ed lea ne s o mo e beyond
he mos widely-discussed wo ds, o look a a deepe
issue unde lying hem.
A u u es iangle o ood quali y
In he ‘analyse’ phase o a CCLAB he lea ne s a e
p omp ed o hink abou he his o ical o igins o he
issue hey a e conce ned wi h, and also wi h how he
issue p ojec s i sel in o he u u e. Lea ne s can use he
‘ u u es iangle’ he weigh o he pas , he push o he
p esen and he pull o he u u e. Some s uden s, o
example, analysed poo -quali y ood, looking a how
o e pas decades pollu ion, use o pes icides and
mass ag icul u al p oduc ion has led o dec easing
ood quali y, and hinking abou how he u u e could
look i his end con inues, bu also wha mo e posi i e
u u es could be. In his way, he lea ne s iden i ied he
poli ical and comme cial in e es s ha would need o
be challenged o wo k owa ds a be e ood quali y
u u e.
ACTIVATING CHANGE
Imagining al e na i e u u es
and iden i ying pa hways o
change. Using di e se
ans o ma i e ools o make a
posi i e impac locally,
na ionally, and/o globally.
DISRUPTING THE
COMMONPLACE
Challenging
assump ions and
accep ed no ms,
and analysing
hei impac .
EMBRACING
MULTIPLE
PERSPECTIVES
Engaging wi h
di e se oices and
con ex s o
de elop mo e
nuanced
unde s andings.
INVESTIGATING
POWER AND
AGENCY
C i ically
examining powe
ela ions, biases,
and socio-poli ical
inequali ies.
The C i ical Change Lab model in ol es 3 o 5 g oup
sessions, which mo e h ough he phases o onboa ding,
ques ioning, analysing, en isioning, ac ing and e lec ing.
THE CRITICAL CHANGE
LAB MODEL
The concep o ‘e e yday democ acy’ has
been used by schola s and analys s o
o e wo decades, bu has ye o be ully
adop ed by policy make s in gene al.
A i s mos undamen al, he idea is ha
democ acy is no only abou o ing and
ep esen a ion, bu abou ou daily
ela ionships in e e y social se ing, he
amily, amongs iends, school, he
wo kplace, he high s ee , o ou
in e ac ions in hospi als, wi h go e nmen
adminis a ion o wi h he police. These
in e ac ions inc easingly ake place no
only o line, bu also online, o en in hyb id
online and o line ways.
How democ a ic hese ela ionships a e
depends on how much o a say each
indi idual has in he ela ionship and i s
di ec ion, he deg ee o which hei
in e es s and iden i y a e espec ed and
aken in o accoun . E e yday democ acy
does no mean ha e e yone has an
iden ical ole o au ho i y in e e y social
in e ac ion: i does no imply each pe son
should bo h be doc o and pa ien ,
eache and s uden , employe and
employee, pa en and child, o
decision-make and o e . I a he means
ha social ela ions should no be based
on domina ion o o ce, and ha he
au onomy o each pe son should be
ein o ced.
The consequences o adop ing an
‘e e yday democ acy’ app oach in
educa ion include he ollowing:
Co e concep s unde lying
he C i ical Change Labs
app oach
E e yday
Democ acy
Acknowledging ha all ela ionships in a
lea ning se ing, whe he in a school o in
a non- o mal o in o mal con ex , model
and in luence a i udes, disposi ions and
alues ha lea ne s will ca y wi h hem
in o o he pa s o hei li es. P omo ing
democ a ic alues in school he e o e
equi es a ‘whole school app oach’
1
Fos e ing he capaci y o iden i y powe
ela ionships, compe ing in e es s and
s akeholde s, and di e en ways o
add essing imbalances, inding
comp omises o accep ing di e ence.
2
A capaci y o sel -awa eness amongs
lea ne s abou hei own ole, in e es s
and beha iou s in ela ionships wi h
o he people and wi h non-humans and
he plane as a whole.
3
Placing an emphasis on ein o cing a
sense o esponsibili y amongs lea ne s
and a capaci y o collec i e ac ion o
add ess p oblems, wi h he sense ha
democ acy is no only aking place in
g and poli ical a enas, bu in
mic o-a eas o e e yday li e.
4
Pu ing as much emphasis on how
lea ne s lea n, and how hey in e ac
oge he , as on wha ac ual in o ma ion
hey lea n.
5
Recen educa ion policy has ocused on
a ious kinds o ‘li e acies’: media li e acy
in ol es being able o access, analyse and
e alua e di e en media; echnological and
digi al li e acy in ol es he abili y o use,
manage, analyse echnology sa ely,
e ec i ely and esponsibly; c i ical li e acy
in ol es ques ioning and examining ideas,
in e p e ing ex s and challenging
assump ions; u u es li e acy is he skill o
being able o unde s and he u u e’s ole in
shaping oday, unde s and ha mul iple
u u es a e possible. Li e acies o hese kinds
a e all impo an and a e de eloped in he
C i ical Change Labs model, bu he model
akes one s ep u he by embedding hese
li e acy abili ies in a wide sense o ‘c i ical
consciousness’.
C i ical Consciousness means he abili y o
‘pe cei e social, poli ical and economic
con adic ions, and o ake ac ion agains he
opp essi e elemen s o eali y’, as i was pu by
one o he o e a he s o he app oach, he
B azilian educa o Paolo F ei e. As such,
os e ing c i ical consciousness in ol es an
unde s anding o powe ela ions, and a
con idence ha each lea ne can ha e an
in luence in add essing domina ion, in
in e up ing injus ice and pu suing
ans o ma ion in bo h local and mo e
s uc u al ways.
Co e concep s unde lying
he C i ical Change Labs
app oach
C i ical
Consciousness:
going beyond
‘li e acies’ o ac ion
The C i ical Change Lab model s a s
immedia ely wi h he c i ical awa eness o
he lea ne s, by wo king wi h hem o iden i y
p oblems o issues ha ouble o bo he
hem, a wha e e scale. The en i e lea ning
p ocess, in which concep s a e explo ed,
li e acies a e de eloped, his o ies a e lea n ,
and al e na i es a e imagined and designed,
is he eby embedded in a p ac ical p ocess
o iden i ying possibili ies o aking ac ion
o change. As such, he model wo ks o
expand and de elop c i ical consciousness
and esponsibili y amongs lea ne s.
O e ecen yea s, scales and indexes o
measu ing he heal h o democ acies ha e
lou ished. Amongs no able indexes a e he
Va ie ies o Democ acy p ojec , which uses
o e 500 indica o s and allows di e en
kinds o democ a ic sys em, and he
Democ a ic Audi s o he Ins i u e o
Democ acy and Elec o al Assis ance which
de ines popula ule and poli ical equi y as
he co e o democ acy, media ed by alues
such as pa icipa ion, ep esen a ion,
accoun abili y, anspa ency and
esponsi eness. The mos sophis ica ed o
he indexes allow ha a undamen al
elemen o democ acy can be
disag eemen abou wha democ acy is
and should be, and which alues should be
mos che ished. These audi s and indexes
a e es ablished by expe s and scien is s,
some imes wi h inpu o ci izens and ci il
socie y li ing in he coun ies. They ocus on
‘democ acy a la ge’, on go e nmen and
go e nance, albei hey may ocus on
di e en scales ( om local o egional o
na ional o ansna ional).
Co e concep s unde lying
he C i ical Change Labs
app oach
Pa icipa i e
Democ a ic
Heal h
Democ acy Heal h Ques ionnai e
C i ical Change Labs collec ed and analysed he esul s o
sel -assessmen democ acy heal h ques ionnai es
dis ibu ed amongs housands o schools and non- o mal
educa ional o ganisa ions in 10 Eu opean coun ies in 2024.
The ques ionnai e posed ques ions abou democ a ic
alues and p ac i es in de elopmen o he educa ional
p og am, access o i and deli e y o i as well as abou he
ou comes and impac on lea ne s. Fo each ques ion, he
head o he ins i u ion was equi ed o assess he
impo ance o he issue, and he cu en a ainmen owa ds
ha objec i e. As such, he ques ionnai e p omp s
educa ional ins i u ions asking hemsel es di icul
ques ions abou how democ a ic hey a e and how much
hey p omo e democ acy, whils also allowing hem o be
clea on hei objec i es o imp o emen , and yea on yea
measu e p og ess in becoming mo e democ a ic.
Analysis o he esul s o he Democ acy Heal h
Ques ionnia e can be ead he e in Policy B ie 1
The ‘e e yday democ acy’ app oach
embedded in he C i ical Change Labs model
calls o assessing democ a ic heal h in wo
ways which a e di e en om hese
la ge-scale indexes. Fi s ly, democ acy is
unde s ood o be p esen o absen in all
ela ionships, which means ha any
ins i u ion could be democ a ically audi ed,
including no ably schools. The p ojec has
ealized a Democ a ic Hea h assessmen
based on a Democ acy Heal h Ques ionnai e
amongs schools, non- o mal and in o mal
lea ning o ganisa ions. Secondly,
democ acy should in ol e e e yone
conce ned, and he e o e he es ablishmen
o c i e ia o wha democ acy is and should
be, and he measu ing o hem, should
in ol e young people no ably in co-c ea ion
p ocesses, bo h as an exe cise in democ a ic
educa ion and empowe men , bu also as a
model o he democ a ic ela ionship
be ween ‘obse e ’ and ‘obse ed’.
Since 2020 he Eu opean Commission has
issued annual ‘Rule o Law’ coun y epo s,
co e ing he jus ice sys em, he
an i-co up ion amewo k, media plu alism
and o he ins i u ional issues ela ed o
checks and balances. Since 2024, he
Eu opean Commission has been hos ing
ci izens panels on a a ie y o policy a eas.
The new Commission since 2024 is
de eloping a ‘Democ acy Shield’ o a mo e
comp ehensi e app oach o ein o cing
democ acy. The concep ions o e e yday
democ acy and democ a ic heal h
unde lying C i ical Change Labs sugges
bo h ha he ule o law epo s could
po en ially be signi ican ly expanded o
include much b oade a eas o democ acy,
and could in ol e pa icipa o y elemen s
no ably including young people.
