This paper examines how students understand and experience democracy and multiculturalism in higher education, focusing on everyday institutional practices, curriculum content, and opportunities for participation. While universities increasingly frame inclusivity and democratic values as central to their mission, less is known about how students experience these principles in practice. To address this gap, a quantitative survey was conducted among 334 students from three higher education institutions in Latvia. The questionnaire explored four main areas: curriculum integration, institutional attitudes and inclusiveness, students’ knowledge and perspectives, and participation in governance. The analysis combined descriptive statistics, reliability testing, and nonparametric methods to examine relationships among components of democratic and multicultural education and to identify differences across student groups. The results suggest that students generally associate their universities with democratic values at an institutional level. At the same time, there is a misalignment between these values and their practical implementation. Students report limited integration of democracy, human rights, and multiculturalism into the curriculum, as well as low engagement in governance and democracy-related activities within the academic environment. These findings indicate a need to strengthen curricular and participatory practices if higher education institutions are to support meaningful democratic engagement in increasingly diverse educational contexts.

Authors:
Karīna Spridzāne, University of Latvia, Latvia
Olga Astratova, University of Latvia, Latvia
Zanda Rubene, University of Latvia, Latvia

About the Presenter(s)
Karīna Spridzāne is a lecturer and PhD candidate at the University of Latvia. Her interests include academic staff competence development, civic engagement in higher education, and service-learning. Her current research focuses on developing a nation

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kar%C4%ABna-spridz%C4%81ne-88b276116/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

Bookmark