102 PREPARATION OF SCHOOL LEADERS
Individuals engaged in democratic practice understand that, “since democracy stands in
principle for free interchange, for social continuity,” social practice “must develop a theory of
knowledge which sees in knowledge the method by which one experience is made available
in giving direction and meaning to another.... [E]quivalent is the connection of the acquisi-
tion of knowledge in schools [or leadership preparation programs] with activities... carried
on in a medium of associated life” (Dewey, 1916a, pp. 344–345). Important also is the under-
standing that democratic practice represents a moral and ethical practice rather than merely
instrumental. Democratic practices connect to broader projects designed to further cultural,
economic, and political democracy; to create a new symmetry and expand the “individual and
social dimensions of citizenship rights” (Hall & Held, 1990, p.1 79).
Democratic Culture
A democratic culture embodies democracy in its philosophy and in its practice. It is there-
fore an idea that is considered a way of life by people in a culture—a way of associated living
as Dewey (1916a) explained: “Democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily
a mode of associated living, a conjoint communicated experience” (p. 87). Culture that is de-
mocratic also signifies the particular ways in which a social group lives out and makes sense
of its circumstances and conditions of life. In the leadership-preparation program, just as in
the public school classroom, a democratic culture is contextualized through cultural diversity,
and its members seek out insights and alternatives from myriad groups and their experiences
in history. For an education leader in the school, just for the teacher in a classroom, democ-
ratic culture begins with the recognition that diversity can only be embraced when there is a
center to which all feel a positive sense of attachment. This center, an authentic sense of
community, cannot be imposed, but rather is negotiated by all students and educator(s) in a
participative and discursive fashion. This center is shared by members of a democratic class-
room culture and practiced in their social interactions as they engage in collective decision
making on issues that affect and interest them. Dewey (1916a) explains the importance of cul-
ture that is democratic when he states that “it is the capacity for constantly expanding the
range and accuracy of one’s perception of meaning” (p. 123) in relation to the perceptions of
others; the inclusive nature of different perceptions is a hallmark of democracy.
Another aspect of democratic culture in the leadership-preparation program and school
classroom is intimately connected with the question of how social relations are structured
within class, gender, and age formations that produce forms of oppression and dependency. A
democratic culture works to illuminate and interrogate asymmetrical power relations, facilitat-
ing students’ development of a critical awareness of these power relations while working to
mediate how power is used to place individuals in social positions and shape identities. A de-
mocratic culture is viewed as a field of struggle in which the particular forms of knowledge
and experience are central areas of conflict (Giroux & McLaren, 1986), and wherein, impor-
tantly, the democratic philosophy and practices of the culture recognize the endemic nature of
such conflict, and work to provide strategies to position students so as not to disadvantage or
devalue any individual or group.
IMPLICATIONS OF A DEMOCRATIC IMPERATIVE
Leadership education, as an agency of democratic educational systems, necessarily serves
a role of social responsibility to the imperatives of a critical, active democracy. That is, lead-