Social pedagogy and civic education: comparing school participatory budgeting and Project Citizen

Using a social pedagogy framework, we examine educational approaches that address the twin challenge of democracy and civic education. The democracy challenge is characterised by the erosion of democratic norms, political disengagement, polarisation and declining trust in institutions. The civic education challenge stems from an overreliance on passive instruction, memorisation and standardised tests, with limited connections to students’ lived experiences. Through a comparative analysis, we argue that school participatory budgeting and Project Citizen embody key tenets of social pedagogy that can foster youth agency, participatory democracy and community engagement through experiential civic learning. Through action civics, students cultivate political efficacy, relational competencies and a deeper sense of belonging that help build democratic cultures within schools and strengthen relationships among students, educators and communities.