What did you check out?
Prof. Norbert Zmyj: My colleagues and I analyzed whether, and from what age, pre-school kids understand and use the bulk principle. To this end, we checked 156 children aged 3, 4, and 5. In an individual video conference, they were presented with stories in which four kids of daycare age voted between 2 activities– for instance, throwing a ball or playing soccer– always with a 3:1 majority. After the vote, the getting involved kids were asked to mention what the group should do and to justify their choice. Later on, the teacher in the story decided, sometimes following the bulk, in some cases the minority. In addition, moms and dads were surveyed about opportunities for involvement available to their children in daycare.
What outcomes did you get?
Only five-year-olds methodically selected the activity preferred by the majority and regularly justified their choice with recommendation to the bulk principle. 3- and four-year-olds tended to follow their own preferences. When the teacher made the decision, kids of any ages supported it– regardless of whether it showed the majority or the minority. No connection might be demonstrated in between kids’s orientation towards the bulk and their participation experiences in daycare.
What does this mean for democracy education in daycare centers?
Although there are already many programs for democracy education in day care, their efficiency has not been evaluated according to recognized standards. Additionally, previously there has been no research study examining whether kids of daycare age even understand the basic principles of democratic procedures. Our study suggests that kids only start to understand the bulk principle towards completion of the pre-school years. This raises the concern of how, and whether, kids in daycare can meaningfully comprehend democracy education. In my view, votes on daily matters can definitely be carried out there, however it is necessary to ensure that especially more youthful kids have the ballot process discussed to them in detail and are given enough time for concerns. Procedures for democracy education in daycare must be thoroughly assessed through controlled studies before being implemented on a broad scale. Without such evaluation, inefficient– or perhaps inadvertently democracy-damaging– ideas could be applied. That is something we can not manage.
What else should democracy education consider?
Democratic votes and elections in the Federal Republic include more than just majority choices. For instance, every vote or election is preceded by debate– and that presupposes the right to totally free expression of opinion and tolerance towards those who believe differently. Anybody who speaks of democracy must also not forget the guideline of law, which in lots of methods locations limits on democracy. For example, minority rights exist that can not be eliminated by a majority. It is certainly difficult to communicate these concepts to kids in an age-appropriate method. Nevertheless, this need to be the goal of democracy education in daycare. It must not give the impression that democracy is restricted to voting on unimportant matters while the teacher chooses everything else. For example, all children could be encouraged to express their opinions before a vote and then talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the various propositions. Ultimately, nevertheless, this is only one of several possible ideas for democracy education that would require to be evaluated.
The group recently released its findings in the global journal Social Development:
Link to study
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