Education for democracy, inclusion and the common good lies at the heart of the EASSH proposals for FP10. This post builds on those proposals and Horizon Europe Project SCIREARLY (Policies and Practices Based on Scientific Research for Reducing Underachievement and Early School Leaving in Europe).
EASSH argues for a new vision of education: a key institution supporting democratic values, civic duty, and community engagement. This agenda closely aligns with evolving discourses within educational research and practice, particularly those concerned with long-standing structural challenges such as early school leaving and educational underachievement. Such challenges were at the heart of the recently concluded Horizon Europe SCIREARLY project, which placed the needs of learners at the centre of its inquiry and emphasised a vision of education that is holistic, equitable, and democratically responsive.
Education as Democratic Infrastructure: Beyond skills and competences
The EASSH FP10 proposal places “Education and Skills” as one of five central societal challenges and, significantly, adopts an expansive understanding of this field beyond labour market demands and narrowly defined competences. It calls for a fundamental reorientation—a “paradigm shift in goals, infrastructures, and pedagogy”—to better equip education systems to foster inclusion, belonging, and citizenship (p 10). This orientation is grounded in the European Union’s deep and long-standing commitment to democracy, rooted in its foundational treaties and in a shared historical determination to promote peace, human rights, and social cohesion across the continent.
Central to this commitment is the recognition that democracy cannot be sustained without democratic education, understood not merely as civic instruction but as the cultivation of critical thinking, participation, inclusion, and respect for diversity within educational systems. This orientation is broadly supported within European educational discourse, where there has always been a strong recognition of the civic and societal role of education.
In recent decades, the broader democratic purpose of education has been progressively eroded by an increasing emphasis on utilitarian, market-oriented agendas that prioritise employability, economic competitiveness, and measurable outputs over civic formation and social responsibility (Biesta, 2015). This has narrowed the educational mission and weakened the role of schools and higher education institutions as spaces for democratic learning and engagement. In the face of intensifying disinformation, political polarisation, and growing civic apathy, education is once again being called upon to serve a deeper democratic project, nurturing critical consciousness, intercultural understanding, and a commitment to democratic participation.
Education as a key driver in the creation of inclusive and democratic spaces
Education forms a first line of defence against the manipulation of public opinion and debate that in recent years has led to a corrosion of trust in democratic institutions. To play this role, it is essential that the education arena is open to competing ideas, underpinned by long traditions of respectful contention, inclusive engagement and democratic ideals. By embedding these values across the educational continuum, as suggested by EASSH, it is possible to create a strong foundation for a wider societal defence of democratic structures and values.
It will not be easy. It will require reform across the educational continuum. Foundational competencies in media literacy, ethical reasoning, and civic education must be embedded within education systems from early years through to higher education. A great deal of further research is required, including on how young people engage with digital information ecologies and how educational systems can support the development of epistemic resilience, critical thinking and social engagement. In an age of all pervasive algorithms and increasingly sophisticated AI-generated content, this work is not optional; it is essential for the maintenance of informed citizenship and in a real sense, democratic legitimacy.
SCIREARLY: Advancing Equity and Engagement
Drawing attention to the need for educational practices that are inclusive, relational, and responsive to students’ lives, the SCIREARLY project exemplifies the reconceptualisation of education as a progressive force for inclusion through democratic modes of engagement and the provision of opportunities across all social strata.
Early school leaving and disengagement are not solely outcomes of economic disadvantage; they are also shaped by systemic failings within education systems to recognise and affirm the cultural, emotional, and intellectual identities of learners. The project’s emphasis on student-centred pedagogy, culturally sustaining curricula, meaningful teacher–student relationships and structured dialogic processes that give all stakeholders a significant voice points towards educational environments where learners feel respected, capable, and connected. When a student disengages, it is often because the system has failed to offer them a sense of belonging and if we are to re-engage them we need to understand how create a sense of community and support that recognises them as individuals rather than conduits of socially useful competences.
Such approaches not only improve educational outcomes, but also instil ways of thinking and learning that are aligned with democratic participation—dialogue, mutual respect, and critical agency. In this sense, equity and inclusion are not merely instrumental goals, they are critical elements of the democratic purpose of education.
A Renewed Commitment to the Public and Social Mission of Education
The EASSH policy document on FP10 rightly acknowledges the need for coordinated, research-led educational reform at a European level, spanning early years to adult learning. This is essential not only for economic innovation but also for addressing the democratic and social deficits currently emerging across many member states.
However, as the EASSH paper cautions, education research—and social science research more broadly—remains significantly underfunded. The proposed €7.6 billion allocation to the Society pillar of FP10, while welcome, remains inadequate relative to the scale of the challenges it seeks to address. EASSH has already successfully challenged the assumption that research in education or the social sciences is less resource-intensive than technical or scientific research. Indeed it points out that this view is not only mistaken—it undermines the ability of education to fulfil its societal mandate.
Towards an Integrated and Ethical Educational Research Ecosystem
Coordinated, research-led educational reform in Europe would need a European Education Research ecosystem, that is inclusive, ethical and built on robust research infrastructures and capabilities. The EASSH FP10 agenda advocates enhanced data systems, cross-border collaborations, and ethically grounded research capable of responding to digital transformation, demographic shifts, and geopolitical upheaval.
Education policy must be developed in conjunction with wider societal priorities—democracy, culture, equality etc. The humanities have a vital role to play here. Their contributions—ranging from critical historiography, cultural analysis and commentary to ethical inquiry and action—are indispensable in equipping learners to interrogate the values underpinning emerging technologies, including AI and its worrying championing of algorithmic governance. The recent controversy relating to the facilitation of the creation of profoundly inappropriate images on one of the largest social media sites, X/Grok makes the argument for a wider European engagement with the values underpinning these technologies. Arguably one of the most important spaces for exploring the issues relating to technology use and impact, is education. (Dáil Éireann, 2026) An exploration of the how and why of technology in society will not only allow students to engage with the immediate issue it hand, it will also give them the skills and values to participate as active citizens across the range of communities that they belong to – local, regional, national and European.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Education for Democracy and the Common Good
The EASSH Position Paper and the SCIREARLY project both make the case for an education system that is ambitious in scope, ethically grounded, and socially responsive. It must also be research led, inclusive and participative. If Europe is to withstand the pressures of authoritarianism, inequality, and misinformation, then investment in education must reflect not only its instrumental value, but its civic and ethical imperative.
Education conceived in these terms can reverse early school leaving, reduce underachievement, and cultivate the capabilities needed for a democratic society—reasoned judgment, critical literacy, ethical deliberation, and solidarity. It prepares citizens not only to contribute to economic productivity, but also to shape the future of their communities with care, imagination, and commitment.
Realising this vision will require European policymakers to adopt a more expansive understanding of education—one that transcends utilitarian frames and reaffirms the centrality of education to the social fabric of democratic life. Only then can we ensure that education remains a transformative and unifying force in an increasingly fractured world.
References
Biesta, G., 2015. What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism. European Journal of education, 50(1), pp.75-87.
Dáil Éireann (2026) Dáil Debates, 15 January 2026, [online] Available at: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2026-01-15/35/ (Accessed: 20 January 2026).
About the Author
Joe O’Hara is Full Professor of Education at the Dublin City University (DCU) Institute of Education, Director of the Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection, and Affiliate Faculty Member at the Centre for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Past President of both the Educational Studies Association of Ireland and the European Educational Research Association, and a former Head of the School of Education Studies at DCU. He is currently President of EASSH.