The teaching and training shall promote belief in democratic values and in democracy as a form of government. It shall give the pupils an understanding of the basic rules of democracy and the importance of protecting them. Participating in society means respecting and endorsing fundamental democratic values, such as mutual respect, tolerance, individual freedom of faith and speech, and free elections. Democratic values shall be promoted through active participation throughout the entire learning path.
School shall promote democratic values and attitudes that can counteract prejudice and discrimination. Pupils shall learn in school to respect the fact that people are different and learn to solve conflicts peacefully.
A democratic society is based on the idea that all citizens have equal rights and opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes. Protecting the minority is an important principle in a democratic state governed by law and in a democratic society. A democratic state also protects indigenous peoples and minorities. The indigenous- people perspective is part of the pupils' education in democracy. All the participants in the school environment must develop awareness of minority and majority perspectives and ensure that there is room for collaboration, dialogue and disagreement. Nurturing diversity on the one hand and including the individual on the other demands awareness of values and the exercising of professional judgment.
The school must be a venue where children and young people experience democracy in practice. The pupils must experience that they are heard in the day-to-day affairs in school, that they have genuine influence and that they can have impact on matters that concern them. They must gain experience and practise different forms of democratic participation in the day-to-day work with their subjects, and through such bodies as pupil councils and advisory bodies. The dialogue between teacher and pupils, and between the school and the home, must be based on mutual respect. When the voices of the pupils are heard in school, they will experience how they can make their own considered
decisions. Such experiences have a value in the here and now, and prepare the pupils for becoming responsible citizens in society.