Polarization and Pluralism: A Comparative Perspective on Mock Elections as Political Education in School. An Analysis of Practices in the Netherlands, Norway and the US

Adjusting citizens to the political regime to maintain stability has been a main task of the school and education system through the centuries, and ambitions to integrate young people into the political process of the political system can be found in national curricula in many countries. In this paper we examine mock elections in school as a way of introducing young citizens to their role in consolidating the poltical systems. We discuss differences ans similarities in three democracies: the Netherlands, Norway and the US. The mock elections at school vary in respect to the actors involved, the place in the formal curriculum, how they are integrated into class and the presentation of the election results. The aim is to provide a space where researchers and civic educators can discuss the efforts to stimulate poltiical participation around the world.