Civic education as a potential for developing civil society and democracy : (the case of Serbia)

Abstract

This study aims at analyzing the potential of the school subject "Civic Education" for the creation of democratic and civil society in Serbia, and its implications for building a sustainable peace in the region. Civic Education is discussed in the framework of Democracy and Civil society, and its aims and goals are analyzed from the perspective of its stakeholders (teachers and pupils). The results show there is a partial congruence between the stated objectives in the Civic Education curriculum and pupils' and teacher's perspective on it. The possible outcomes of this program, competences hypothesized to be relevant for democratic behavior, are accessed through pupils' attitudes expressed on the Ethnic distance scale and the scale of Authoritarianism, where two groups of pupils are compared (those who attend Civic Education and those who attend Religious Education). A statistically significant, although moderate difference between these groups is found on the later scale, implying that the Civic Education program can decrease authoritarianism/traditionalism. However, strong traditional structures in family and society, as well as visible illiberal tendencies in the Serbian politics are undermining the real potential of the Civic Education for further democratization and developing of civil society in Serbia. Key words: civic education, civil society, democracy, peace, ethnic distance, and authoritarianism