Education and the Crisis of Youth: Schooling and the Promise of Democracy

Public and higher education have fallen prey to forces of commercialization, privatization, and market considerations that undermine civic and critical learning while devaluing young people as a referent for a democratic and just future. This article criticizes this position and makes a case for reclaiming such vital institutions as fundamental to a substantive democracy, emphasizing the importance of critical pedagogy in providing students with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that prepare them to be engaged, critical citizens.