Workshop: Democracy education in vocational schools
2024-11-22 "Leading Schools – Challenges and Solutions" was the theme of this year's annual conference of the Lower Saxony Association of Directors of Vocational Schools (NDVB). Around 40 school leaders gathered in various settings to discuss topics such as democracy education in vocational schools. Among the participants: the Leuphana Innovation Community for School Improvement and Leadership.
After Dr. Wolfgang Beutel from Leibniz University Hannover was unable to deliver his online impulse due to technical issues, Leuphana staff members Ninja Müller and Lisa Hofmann stepped in to fill the gap. They ended up facilitating the entire 90-minute workshop on democracy education—with great success, as confirmed by the participants.
The following questions were at the core of the discussion:
- What does successful democracy education look like?
- What challenges need to be addressed—from student diversity (Heterogeneity) and fake news to a lack of media literacy and political disengagement?
- What practical solutions and approaches can be implemented?
Through active exchange among the school leaders, participants were able to develop new ideas and initial concrete approaches to enhance democracy education in vocational schools.