Shortly before the state elections in Saxony, researchers from the John Dewey Research Center for Civic Education (JoDDiD) are presenting a comprehensive study on the financing and funding structure of political-democratic education in Saxony.

The analysis, which is based on interviews and a dialog between research and practice with stakeholders from politics, administration and educational projects, sheds light on the challenges and conflicts in Saxony's funding landscape. The study "Democratic education in the 'funding jungle'" describes the complex network of funding programs and conditions that characterize the bankrolling of extracurricular political education in Saxony.

The author Celina M. Hertel comments on the challenges: "The lack of clarity in the search for funding opportunities, complex application procedures and long approval processes are just some of the problems identified by our study." Rico Lewerenz, another author of the study, adds: "In addition, complex bureaucratic requirements and the pressure to constantly develop innovative projects are a burden on project sponsors, while on the other hand, public funding providers are under increasing political pressure to justify themselves."

Prof. Anja Besand, Director of JoDDiD, adds: "The study not only describes conflicts, but also develops concrete solutions and suggestions for improvement, such as measures for more transparent communication between the stakeholders involved, greater digitalization of funding processes and the creation of institutional funding for better planning security."

The authors conclude that there is a need to discuss the future design of a sustainable funding strategy for political-democratic education in Saxony and beyond. The aim is to cut the red tape of Saxony's "funding jungle" and make funding more transparent and accessible.

Detailed information:

Study: Democratic education in the "funding jungle" - A JoDDiD study on the funding and promotion of extracurricular political education in Saxony

The John Dewey Research Center for Civic Education (JoDDiD) is an innovative center in the field of civic education. Its objective is to research, advance and raise awareness of new forms, methods and communication concepts. In doing so, it supports people in Saxony who are involved in extracurricular education in the preparation, development and reflexive evaluation of civic education programs against the backdrop of a challenging societal situation. Within this context the researchers focus especially on the area of extracurricular civic education for young people and adults. The perspectives of school-based civic education are pertinent to JoDDiD only when they are related to extracurricular educational institutes. The John Dewey Research Center for Civic Education thus closes the gap between academic infrastructure and pedagogical educational practice in the context of professional discussion in (extracurricular) civic education for young people and adults.

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Contact:

Rico Lewerenz
John Dewey Research Center for Civic Education (JoDDiD)
Tel.: +49 351 463-31921
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