Educate to question: critical citizenship as a defence of democracy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63688/p26hs33Keywords:
critical citizenship, democracy, critical thinking, media literacy, educationAbstract
This article examines how education fosters critical citizenship as a key element in defending and strengthening democracy. Based on a documentary review of theoretical contributions and institutional sources, the analysis explores how disinformation, political apathy, and low media literacy undermine citizen participation and weaken the quality of public debate. Drawing on the perspectives of Dewey, Freire, and Habermas, it is argued that education should go beyond the mere transmission of knowledge and instead promote critical thinking, deliberation, and active participation. In the Ecuadorian context, the study reveals a gap between the normative principles of the educational system and the real conditions of access, retention, and democratic formation. In response, it proposes strengthening social sciences education through strategies such as structured debates and critical news analysis to enhance argumentative skills, media literacy, and civic engagement. The study concludes that educating to question does not imply fostering unfounded opposition, but rather developing citizens capable of interpreting reality, contrasting information, and participating responsibly in public life, which are essential elements for a stronger, more inclusive, and reflective democracy.
References
Banco Mundial. (2024). Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) – Ecuador. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://www.ucg.ac.me/skladiste/blog_609332/objava_105202/fajlovi/Creswell.pdf
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://books.google.com.ec/books?hl=es&lr=&id=AIRpMHgBYqIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Denzin,+N.+K.,+%26+Lincoln,+Y.+S.+(2011).+The+SAGE+handbook+of+qualitative+research+(4th+ed.).+SAGE+Publications.&ots=kqGPDGhymf&sig=zzkRrbbryNB0HGp-heITJVkyni8
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. Macmillan.
Ennis, R. H. (2011). The nature of critical thinking. University of Illinois.
Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction: The Delphi Report. American Philosophical Association.
Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogía del oprimido (2.ª ed.). Siglo XXI Editores. (Trabajo original publicado en 1970)
Giroux, H. A. (2004). Teoría y resistencia en educación. Siglo XXI Editores.
Gutmann, A. (1999). Democratic education (Rev. ed.). Princeton University Press.
Habermas, J. (1984). The theory of communicative action (Vol. 1). Beacon Press.
Habermas, J. (1989). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. MIT Press.
Habermas, J. (1999). La inclusión del otro: Estudios de teoría política. Paidós.
Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://methods.sagepub.com/book/mono/content-analysis-4e/toc#_
Magendzo, A. (2003). Educación en derechos humanos: Un desafío para los docentes. LOM Ediciones.
Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Sin fines de lucro: Por qué la democracia necesita de las humanidades. Katz Editores. https://etica.uazuay.edu.ec/sites/etica.uazuay.edu.ec/files/public/2021-09/Nussbaum%20-%20Sin%20fines%20de%20lucro.pdf
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2020). Fostering students’ creativity and critical thinking: What it means in school. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/62212c37-en
Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO). (2023). Global citizenship education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century. UNESCO.
UNESCO. (2026). Inteligencia artificial y desinformación. https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/inteligencia-artificial-y-desinformacion
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jesús Sebastián Villafuerte Villacrés, Rafael Alexander Flores Pérez, Stalin Ariel Galarza Poaquiza, Joselyn Salomé Andrade González (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
