Participation as an element of active citizenship in democracies is a key project of international and national educational policy. Institutionalized approaches for compulsory schools provide participatory access to all young European citizens. But does this picture depict the possibilities and practices of participation appropriately? Can this standard approach to participation be translated into action in view of diverse polities, policies, political cultures, institutions and practices of participation? This book explores what prerequisites must be given for a successful implementation of such a comprehensive international project.

Introduction: Critical Approaches to Education for Civic and Political Participation Reinhold Hedtke and Tatjana Zimenkova Part I: Taken-for-Grantedness and Hidden Normativity? Foundations and Framings of Participatory Education Policies 1. Dealing with Dissatisfaction: Role, Skills and Meta-Competencies of Participatory Citizenship Education Detlef Sack 2. Active Citizenship as Harmonious Co-Existence? About the Political in Participatory Education Tatjana Zimenkova 3. Who is Afraid of a Non-Conformist Youth? The Right to Dissent and to Not Participate Reinhold Hedtke Part II: Ambitious Policies, Ambiguous Practices? Approaches and Impacts of Participatory Education in Schools and Beyond 4. Policy Approaches to Quality of Citizenship Education by European Intergovernmental Organisations Herman Josef Abs and Sarah Werth 5. Motivated by Education or Encouraged by Opportunities? A Comparative Perspective on Knowledge and Participation NexusAnu Toots 6. Putting Participation into Practice: Re-Evaluating the Implementation of the Citizenship Curriculum in England Avirl Keating and David Kerr Part III: Included by Education, Excluded by Politics? Tensions, Gaps and Contradictions of Participatory Education 7. Education, Citizenship and Deliberative Democracy: Sen's Capability Perspective Tristan McCowan and Elaine Unterhalter 8. Citizenship Education Without Citizenship? The Migrant in EU Education Policy on European Citizenship - Toward the Margin through 'Strangification' Maria Olson 9. Sharing Political Power or Caring for the Public Good? The Impact of Service Learning on Civic and Political Participation Tatjana Zimenkova Part IV: Shadows of the Pasts, Privacies in the Present? Tracing Participatory Education Back to Soviet and Authoritarian Systems 10. A Relational Approach to Citizenship: Between Civicness and Authoritarianism Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski 11. Visions of the Authoritarian Past in Citizenship Education Policies and Practices in Spain and Portugal Pedro D. Ferreira, Andreia Caetano, Mariana Rodrigues, Carina C. Lopes, Sofia C. Pais, Helena C. Araújo and Isabel Menezes Part V: Conclusion 12. Concluding Remarks: Object of Participation Policies, Subject of Political Participation? Tatjana Zimenkova and Reinhold Hedtke