Democracy, education and economics

This paper examines the connections between democracy and education, particularly as it concerns economics. We adopt a pluralist proceduralist view of democracy, and argue that this requires a view of individuals as active decision-makers able to deliberate and reflect on their different ideas and opinions – a view not available to mainstream economics with its preference-based view of the individual. The paper examines the nature of learning and its implications for teaching, and then applies this to economics education. An important aspect of this is students' exploration of their values. We argue this approach requires a pluralist educational philosophy.