Supporting Democracy Education—A Research Perspective

The overarching theme of democracy education has taken on a clear sense of urgency in light of the global challenges facing democratic societies. Conservatories in Switzerland are also responding to these issues, both by adapting their curricula and by developing continuing education programs. One example worth noting here is the “Community Music” approach, which has found its way into music conservatories. This approach gives equal consideration to musical and social processes and links them to the principles of participation and accessibility in order to strengthen empathy, responsibility, and a sense of belonging.

The Working Group on Music Education Research (AMPF) also began in 2024 with Democracy and Music Education Content from this field is covered from a research perspective. The AMPF’s thematic focus areas receive special attention, as the institution’s annual conference and publications are regarded as central to German-language research.

Two core processes of democratic societies, Participation and Community spirit These topics were discussed at a symposium organized by the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) based on three research projects. “Participation” has become an established term in the context of democracy education. Community spirit is used in the projects, based on the publication by Aleida and Jan Assmann, as sixth, social sense A perspective that is shaped by the individual and applied to other people. It can emerge where people seek to create a shared world by acknowledging their differences.

The first of the projects presented focused on encouraging students to pursue innovative approaches in music education at the high school level, since there is often little room for exploration during teaching practicums in schools; rather, a linear approach to teaching is expected. To break down this linearity, a ‘student-led practicum’ was designed, in which artistic thinking and a sense of community were harnessed as potential for instructional development. Sketchy, emotional, unsettling, or rule-breaking elements were intentional and encouraged in this trial run. New teaching ideas were tested, discussed collectively, and further developed. A survey of the students, conducted through guided interviews, revealed that they knew how to make use of this space for ideas and that a shared understanding of contemporary teaching could be developed.

The second project focuses on the role of biographical experiences. A research group developed a methodologically structured model for educational work on musical self-concept. To test the model, students conducted guided biographical-narrative interviews with one another. Together, they discussed metaphors and linguistic symbols to capture personal experiences and attributions of meaning. Through this dialogic exchange, new perspectives on individual experiences emerged. A shared understanding developed from personal reflection and group discussion. This understanding has implications in individual contexts but also reveals profound consequences with regard to the development of a sense of community.

Finally, the third project examined how emotions are addressed in educational processes. Through an autoethnographic narrative, the author described how a community music seminar raised her awareness of the dreaded emotional terrain, as Martha Nussbaum put it, has brought this into sharper focus. The participants’ narratives and self-reflections revealed how emotions can influence the process of seeking a sense of community in music groups. Recent studies from both political and neuroscientific perspectives have shown that humans’ ability to perceive and nurture individual emotions is crucial to the preservation of democracies. The argument is that emotions influence people’s behavior in public spaces such as schools or colleges. An examination of this university context reveals that emotions can even become problematic in that they can hinder participatory teamwork and even the implementation of music projects.

Democracy education is also included in the curricula of elementary and high schools. It is therefore a good thing that music colleges are actively promoting the integration of research and music education practice in this field.

*AEC: The European Association of Conservatories, Music Academies, and Music Colleges

*EAS: European Association for Music in Schools

*ISME: International Society for Music Education

Literature

• Arendt, H. (2018). The Human Condition. Second Edition. The University of Chicago Press.
• Assmann, J. & A. (2024): Community spirit. The sixth sense: the social sense. C.H. Beck
• Bartels, D., Frischknecht, R., Mommartz, S., (2026, planned) Getting to the Core of Democratic Education: Three Ways to Foster Common Sense (Gemeinsinn) (Working title) in: European Perspectives on Music Education, vol. 15. Helbling
• Barth, D., and Prues, P. (eds.) (2025). Democracy Education as a Cross-Curricular Task: Approaches to Subject-Specific Pedagogy, Developments, and Potential. Debus Educational Publishing
• Bossen, A., Tellisch, C., (eds.) (2020). Music Education as a Contribution to Democracy Education. Potsdam University Press.
• Frey-Konrad, U., Hofbauer, V.C., Blanchard, O., Bugiel, L. (eds.) (2025). Volume 46 of the Working Group on Music Education Research. Waxmann .
• Nussbaum, M. C. (2013). Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice. Harvard University Press.
• Reichenbach, R. (2025): A Crisis of Imagination: On the Loss of Judgment and Public Spirit. Psychosozial Publishing