Does higher education make people better democratic citizens?

In this project, we propose to study how a particular democratic skill - the willingness and ability to consider others' interests in political life – develops during higher education. Democracy's promise to be a form of government that shows equal concern for the interests of all citizens and respects all citizens as equal political actors is undermined by patterns of unequal participation. This can be compensated for by those who participate, if they consider interests other than their own. The purpose of this pilot-project is to test whether higher education contributes to or undermines the development of this democratic skill. We will conduct survey studies among students in a selection of educational programs at Uppsala University. The purpose of the survey is to capture differences in democratic skills as consequences of undergoing higher education.

Project start

2024

Funding

Democracy and Higher Education, Uppsala University

Researchers

Johan Wejryd, Researcher in Political Science, IBF (Project leader)
Oskar Hultin Bäckersten, Researcher in Political Science, IBF
Jonas Hultin Rosenberg, Researcher in Political Science, Department of Government