Student and family engagement for developing a culture of democratic/civic participation

The rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy are foundational values of the EU laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. These values provide the Union with principled orientations to meet the inevitable geopolitical economic, social and demographic changes that could not be foreseen at the time the Treaties were drafted. This includes how the digital transformation would affect how the debate and political processes would be shaped.

Democracy is cultural practice as much as it is a political system. It is a key strength of European societies, helping ensure respect for equality, the rule of law, fundamental rights and liberty. Actors with anti-democratic tendencies attack democracies and their institutions because democracy is a safeguard against them[[The 2025 report of the V-Dem Institute (“25 years of Autocratization-Democracy Trumped?”) confirms the appalling signs, indicators and tendencies captured over previous years of measurement: “The trend of the ‘third wave of autocratization’ is deepening and spreading. That includes weakening of democracy in some established liberal democracies, breakdown of democracy in countries that were democratic for most of the 21st century, as well as deepening of autocracy in already autocratic states […] The global democratic decline deepens, regardless of how we slice the data and whichever measure we use” (pp. 9 and 10)]]. Even traditionally well-functioning democracies face many challenges, which means that they also continuously need to adapt as conditions change. Social sciences and humanities (SSH) research plays a crucial role in understanding current challenges and threats and mapping future pathways for innovative solutions. Building on historical, cultural, social, legal and philosophical perspectives, research will foster the further development of democracy with a view to enhancing citizen participation and inclusive policymaking, promoting equality and inclusiveness, addressing the impact of AI and the digital transformation of democracy. It will also reinforce democratic resilience and civic preparedness, and preserve the role of free, independent and plural media as key tenets of democracy, among other objectives.

Expected impact:

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:

• Reinvigorating democratic governance by improving the independence, accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of institutions and policies based on rule of law, and through the expansion of active and inclusive citizens’ participation and engagement empowered by the safeguarding of fundamental rights.

The aim of the research investment supporting this impact is to develop a robust evidence base that can inform the establishment of effective, relevant and sensible policies, which bolster the resilience of democratic systems and protect them from threats. At the same time, it seeks to foster critical thinking while also reinforcing citizens’ trust in democracy, its institutions, and the sense of political participation in its widest possible sense.

The destination seeks synergies with other relevant EU programmes, in particular for the uptake of research results and innovative solutions developed under Horizon Europe. Interaction – among others – with the following programmes is encouraged: Digital Europe (DIGITAL), Technical Support Instrument, CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), Erasmus+, ESF+ and Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument.

Applicants are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the services offered by the current and future EU-funded European Research Infrastructures, particularly those in the social sciences and humanities domain^[1]. Where applicable, proposals should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, as well as data from relevant Data Spaces.

As the destination aims directly at citizen engagement and at producing lasting change, it is of particular importance that the research and innovation actions promote the highest standards of transparency and openness. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this destination is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable). When applicable, it is encouraged to open up the process, criteria, methodologies and data to civil society in the course of the research.

To maximise the impacts of R&I under this Destination in line with EU priorities, international cooperation is encouraged whenever relevant in the proposed topics.

[1] For a full list see https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/ri-portfolio/table. In the social sciences domain, see for example: CESSDA - Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (https://www.cessda.eu/), ESS – European Social Survey (https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/), SHARE - Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (https://www.share-eric.eu/) or the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (https://ehri-project.eu/)

Expected Outcome:

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Policymakers, education and training institutions, and educators will be provided with an evidence base, toolkits, and recommendations on the types of collaboration mechanisms with families that are most effective in supporting schools' efforts to provide citizenship education^[1].
• Policymakers, education and training institutions, and educators will have a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of student councils and other student participatory mechanisms on influencing school decision-making and on student civic engagement.
• Policymakers, education and training institutions, and educators will have a deeper understanding of the impact of family involvement in citizenship education in schools.
• Educators have frameworks, guidance, and tools for evaluating social-emotional learning, including values and attitudes, as part of citizenship education.

Scope:

Research should examine schools as a locus for practicing participation and developing innovative participatory practices.

Research should examine student and family engagement to foster a democratic culture via school activities. It should consider schools as social places for intergenerational dialogue.

Research should examine the role of socio-emotional learning in tackling sensitive topics in the classroom and in fostering civic agency development among learners. Research could explore the emotions that drive civic engagement and investigate strategies to help students emotionally cope with frustrations when their civic engagement efforts do not unfold as expected. Research should integrate an intersectional approach that is sensitive to gender and ability, by studying how students contribute to and respond to civic engagement efforts differently according to their identity and backgrounds.

Research should examine the active role of families in building children and young people's civic identity. Parents/caregivers and the wider family are key in children and young people’s informal learning, shaping their interests, values, and world-views; family involvement in school citizenship education might vary in more diverse communities, depending on the family’s cultural, migrant or socio-economic backgrounds; some families may not appreciate the importance of teaching about social issues, democracy, or civic participation or may feel excluded or disconnected from schools’ efforts to provide citizenship education. Research should examine how citizenship education is reinforced or challenged outside the classroom, especially with growing polarization and diversity of our societies. The research should provide recommendations of how to effectively engage families from diverse backgrounds in their children's citizenship education. The main focus should be on parents and caregivers (legal guardians); exploring other wider family influences is also possible.

Research should examine families’ and students' views on the content of citizenship education and examine the role of curriculum design in promoting inclusive civic engagement among students from diverse backgrounds. Arts and humanities can be part of the disciplines examined where relevant. Research should aim to identify the types of collaboration that not only bolster students' civic competence but also ensure inclusivity in their engagement.

The research should investigate the effectiveness of student councils and other participatory mechanisms in providing meaningful opportunities for student influence. Research should investigate the incentives and motives behind participation and uncover possible restrictions and motives for non-participation. It should exploit the tools that have been already developed in previous research projects in the area of civic participation.

Research should address the lack of formal monitoring and evaluation of these participatory mechanisms. It should develop frameworks, guidance, and tools for evaluation of socio-emotional learning, including values and attitudes as part of citizenship education.

Research can explore whether and how engaging families in citizenship education and fostering of a democratic culture at school influences both the civic participation of children and young people, and that of their families. Emphasis could be placed on schools in marginalised areas or with high migrant populations, to uncover structural barriers to civic engagement in those settings.

Research should include pilots or living labs, developing innovative participation practices in schools, where students learn to recognise and exercise their citizenship rights and obligations, strengthen the value of democracy, and build their identity as active citizens. Projects should collaborate with schools and education authorities in the development and running of these pilots and living labs.

Projects may freely choose the age group they will examine, as long as it remains within primary and/or secondary education levels.

[1] The Action plan on basic skills (March 2025) explicitly recognises citizenship as a basic skill, and it defines it as: “The ability to act responsibly and participate fully in civic life, grounded in an understanding of social, economic, legal and political structures. This involves understanding and evaluation of civic and democratic concepts, institutions and processes, including democracy, media literacy, crisis preparedness and respect for others and freedom of speech.”