Education

The Council of Europe, as part of its Education Strategy 2024-2030, "Learners First", under Pillar 1, "Renewing the Democratic and Civic Mission of Education", has created a toolkit on the right to quality education for all learners, with a focus on creating an inclusive and democratic school culture to support the most marginalized and vulnerable groups.

The tool "Involving families in democratic life in schools" explores how democracy and democratic culture can be woven not only into teaching practices but into the everyday life of schools more generally. It is based on the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC), a model of competences that includes the values, attitudes, skills, knowledge and critical understanding that are needed for effective participation in democratic and culturally diverse societies. This tool focuses particularly on the involvement of families. It provides a set of practical workshops, lesson plans, extracurricular activities and materials that support the implementation of the RFCDC. The implementation of the RFCDC requires an ongoing commitment to human rights education, intercultural dialogue and the promotion of democratic practices. As the tool outlines, inclusion in schools is not merely about access but about creating an environment where all children can thrive, learn from each other and actively contribute to the school community and wider society.
Ultimately, this tool aims to equip schools and educators to facilitate action-oriented learning and to promote an inclusive, democratic school culture that is experienced by all members of the school community as an everyday reality.
The cover illustration featuring the word “democracy” in Serbian is taken from the Council of Europe publication “Living in a Democratic Family” (2021), which was created in Serbia.