Democracy and participation: representations of 3rd cycle students

The book corresponds to the research carried out by the author as part of her Master's thesis on the social representations of 3rd cycle basic education students regarding their participation in school representation structures. Its theoretical development is based on the need to revitalize and strengthen democracy, especially its cultural content, through greater and better civic participation. In this field, the school, as a space for daily interaction among young people, has an important role to play in empowering active citizenship. The democratic way of life is built through opportunities to learn about it, namely through participatory experiences in the school context. The legal framework for the management and administration of Portuguese primary and secondary schools provides for student representative positions in different school bodies, as well as associative activities, which can constitute opportunities for democratic experience and for the formation and training of future active citizenship.