Glossary

Ableism

This term refers to the structural discrimination of people with an (assigned) disability, as well as people who are handicapped. 1

Active Citizenship

The power of citizens to enact and defend their democratic rights and societal responsabilities, to appreciate diversity and to actively take part in democratic life. 2

Ageism

This term describes the structural discrimination of people based on their assigned old age as well as the stigmatisation of old age and being elderly. For example, through socio-cultural predominant associations with illness as well as physical and mental decline. 3

Beutelsbach Consensus

The “Beutelsbach consensus” was formulated in the 1970s and refers to three didactical pillars that are important for formal political education: Prohibition against overwhelming the pupil, controversial subjects being taught as controversial, and orientation towars the pupils’ interest. 4

Bodyism

The term refers to discrimination and domination based on bodily beauty and health norms. 5

Classism

The term classism refers to the discrimination of people based on their (assigned) economic, social and educational-political status/background. This can occur on an interactional, institutional, and/or socio-cultural level. 3

Criticism of Racism

Criticism of racism means addressing the issue of how, under what conditions and with what consequences the self-image and behavior of individuals, groups, institutions and structures are mediated by racism and reinforce racism. (…) It aims to examine and weaken disabling, disciplinary and violent distinctions based on racial constructions and to make alternative distinctions clear. 7 Dealing with racism is particularly necessary in the educational sector, since racism-relevant negotiation processes also exist and are reproduced there become. Students should develop action skills in order to recognize inhumane positions and situations and to be able to take a position against them.

Democratic Citizenship Education

“Education for democratic citizenship means education, training, dissemination, information, practices and activities which aim, by equipping learners with knowledge, skills and understanding and moulding their attitudes and behaviour, to empower them to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities in society, to value diversity and to play an active part in democratic life, with a view to the promotion and protection of democracy and the rule of law.”8

Diagnostics

The term includes all activities that determine the prerequisites and conditions for successful teaching and learning processes of a learner. In addition, learning processes are analyzed and their effectiveness, which is reflected in the learning outcome, is determined. The aim of diagnostics is to optimize the individual learning process. 9

Dimensions of the Political

The polity encapsulates the form and structure of the political and thereby refers to institutional spects. Policy includes the contents of political disputes, meaning the topics, tasks and goals that participants formulate and want to realize. Politics focusses on political processes (e.g., elections, votes, lobbying) and conflict analysis, how interest groups try to implement their matters. 10

Diversity

The diversity approach departs from a multi-dimensional perspective: Individuals are characterised by numerous differences and the belonging to a larger number of different groups in a high-ordered social context and society. Based on the multiple affiliations to various diversity dimensions, such as gender identity, ethnic and cultural background, skin colour, religion, worldview, sexual orientation, disability, age, social status, occupation etc., there exists simultaneously differences and commonalities between individuals, depending on the context. The diversity approach picks up on intersectionality in so far as it particularly makes aware the connection of belonging and assignment of social status and the position of these in societal dominance structures. 11

Empowerment

The term has been characterised by the U.S. civil rights and self-help movements and stands for the self-empowering or self-enablement of peoples. This means a process in which disadvantaged people develop their own strengths and use their skills, in order to participate in political and societal decision-making processes and do so to improve their living circumstances and opportunities to develop – independent of the benevolence and the majority class. 12

Eurocentrism

The term describes the judgement of non-European cultures from the perspective of European values and norms. Thereby, Europe is seen as the center of thought and action. Europe’s history of developement is then seen as the benchmark against which all other countries and cultures are compared. 13

Hate Speech

Hate speech is understood as the expression of hate through targeted degradation, insulting and treathening of singular people or groups of people. 14

Heteronormativity

Heteronormativity refers to the “presumed to be natural exclusive binary division of genders (man and woman)” and mutual heterosexual desire, which are both seen as societal norms and, accordingly, binary stereotypes for men and women. 15

Inclusion

Inclusion is a societal and interactive process of transformation, having as its goal to dissolve discriminatory social constructs and enable participation for all people. Participation includes that access, opportunity and self-determination are enabled. 16

Intersectionality

This term refers to the analysis of interdependence (mutual conditionality) and the combined effects of various categories of difference with dimensions and social inequality and exclusion. In order to create a thorough understanding of discrimination, their individual forms (such as racism, sexism or hetero-sexism) may not be considered as independent of one another. 17

Othering

Othering describes a process in which people are constructed as “others” and differentiated from a “we”. 18

Peer Education

Peer education is a pedagogical approach that enables learning from and with people (peers) who have a similar background of experience and share life environments 19. Peers are people who move in common social spaces and share similar interests and experiences. They often deal with the same questions and topics, they speak a similar language and are almost the same age.

People of Color (PoC)

People of Colour serves as an analytical and political term, which is used for all people and communities which are racialised as “other” and were and continue to be oppressed. Meanwhile the term BPoC (Black and People of Colour) is used more frequently to expressly include black people. Somewhat less frequently the term is extended to BIPoC (Black and Indigenous People of Colour) which includes indigenous people. 20

Postcolonialism

Postcolonialism describes the period after the disolvement of the colonies, the cultural state of a postcolonial society as well as the critical engagement with and the intellectual detachment from the societal, economic, and political effects of colonialism.

Principle of Controversy

According to the Beutelsbach Consensus, political education is committed to the principle of controversy: Everything that is controversial in science and society must also appear controversial in lessons and in settings of political education. However, the controversy requirement requires a minimum consensus, namely that all parties in are equal to their difference (agree to disagree). Furthermore, in liberal democracies there is a minimal consensus on values, which in itself cannot become the subject of negotiations. However, it is certainly possible to negotiate where the boundaries of the non-controversial sector should be drawn in detail. 21

Prohibition of Overpowering

The prohibition of overpowering states that it is not permitted to take students by surprise – by whatever means – in the interests of desired opinions and thus prevent them from making independent judgments. This is exactly where the border between political education and indoctrination runs. However, indoctrination is incompatible with the role of the teacher in a democratic society and the goal of the student’s maturity. 22

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. 23

Self-efficacy

Self-confidence in one’s ability to act is an attitude toward oneself. It includes a positive evaluation of one’s own abilities to act in a way that is necessary to reach certain goals as well as the confidence to understand questions, to choose the respective methods to reach goals, to succesfully overcome barriers, and to bring about change in the world. 24

Sexism

Under sexism is understood to be every form of discrimination of people based on their (assigned) gender as well as its appearance in underlying ideologies. 25

Tolerance of Ambiguity

Tolerance of ambiguity, meaning to understand plurality and to be able to navigate contradictions, can be measured in the capability to acknowledge and endure multiple ways of and insecurity in meaning. 26

White/Whiteness

“White” does not necessarily mean the shade of colour of a person’s skin but the position and social attribution as white in a racially-structured society. 27

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19. Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie e. V. (2019): lebensweltnah & partizipativ – Mit Peer Education gesellschaftliche Vielfalt und Demokratie fördern.
20. https://glossar.neuemedienmacher.de/glossar/filter:p, last access 29.04.2021.
21. Grammes, Tilman: Kontrover­sprinzip. In: Wolfgang Sander: Handbuch der politischen Bildung. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2013. S. 129.
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24. Europarat (2016): Kompetenzen für eine demokratische Kultur. Kurze Zusammen­fassung.
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