Democracy is in decline in established democracies, and more so in the newer democracies of the past half-century, but that decline can be reversed through political education. If democracy is to survive in a viable form, this decline must be reversed. The decline is addressed elsewhere, although Freedom House (2021) captures the essence of the problem. The focus here is on the role schools can play in a reversal process, with particular emphasis on the school curriculum in its multiple forms. Political education as a school subject is rare, but civics education (US), citizenship education (England) or even civics and citizenship education (Australia) are more common vehicles for learning about and practising democracy in schools and, as such, act as a proxy for more explicit political education. However, in recent years, these subjects have been under direct threat in schools and through system curricula controlled by state curriculum bodies.

The role of the school in creating and sustaining democratic citizens has been well accepted by democratic governments for over a century. Dewey's ([1916] 1997) work early last century epitomised this connection between schools and learning democracy. Indeed, as democracy is not a natural human condition, and unlikely to be nurtured in home and family environments, it needs to be encouraged and practised in the security of school environments and through the school curriculum. This chapter considers what can be done to address this disastrous, potentially existential political situation of democratic decline. It will use a model of political and civic learning (Print, 2009a, 2012) and survey the latest relevant research. It will draw out the lessons from the research into approaches that can help counter democratic decline, such as:

• • formal school curriculum as developed by an expert, non-partisan group;

• • informal school curriculum;

• • situated learning – incorporating formal, informal and extracurricular elements.

Threats to democracy

The threats to democracy in modern society are now well documented, although they appear somewhat disguised to large sections of the general population as there seems to be a lack of widespread concern over the current situation.