School councils as seedbeds of civil virtue? Liberal citizenship theory in dialogue with educational research

This chapter considers liberal citizenship education theory in light of the empirical research on school councils, an educational means widely used by schools to promote pupils’ emergent capacities for active democratic participation. Through a review of the educational research on school councils, the question the chapter explores is the extent to which school councils are effective for fostering three civic virtues prioritized by liberal citizenship theorists: autonomy, reasonableness, and democratic knowledge. The chapter’s research review supports the claim that school councils are promising in this connection but also highlights inherent tensions between the liberal ideal of “learning democracy by doing it” and the day-to-day institutional realities of mass schooling. In closing, a greater integration between liberal theorizing on the goals of civic education and future educational research on school councils is recommended.