Democracy at School: Students' Conceptions in Spain and Portugal

The aim of the article is to identify and characterize students' conceptions of democracy in public schools in Spain and Portugal. To this end, a phenomenographic study was conducted, involving 30 students - Spain (15) and Portugal (15). Data were collected through phenomenographic interviews. The results suggest two main conceptions of democracy: delegative and participative. In the first, students associate democracy with the election of people to occupy educational positions (management bodies and leadership positions, and student representative structures). In the second, they link democracy to the possibility of direct participation in educational matters by giving opinions, taking part in decisions, or assuming responsibilities in the effective development of actions in daily school life. This study highlights that schools are fertile contexts for democratic learning and reinforces the understanding that students' educational experiences play a fundamental role in shaping a view of democracy.