Definition of the Problem

• There have been numerous debates on the effectiveness of the education system to develop active democratic citizens.
• This has prompted concern as to the experiencesof students in living democratic citizenship in their schools, community and nation.

Research Methodology

• The study utilises a qualitative design exploring how students view the state of democracy in their country and how their education has prepared them for becoming active democratic citizens.
• Purposively selected sample consisting of twelve, grade eleven students from two urban schools.
• Data analysis included verbatim transcriptions fromfocus group interviews and codes from emerging themes.
• Ethical considerations were observed.

Key Results

• The highest ranked values were rights, responsibilities, respect for people, laws and culture of the country, honesty and justice.
• Students had negative views of transparency and accountability of prominent persons in society and institutions.
• Preparation for citizenship at school was mainly through school governance, clubs and community engagement.

Impact on Society

• Aholistic approach to education fostering skills, values and attitudes for active democratic citizens and less emphasis on content laden subjects for assessment purposes
• Greater school-community partnership reflectinglived democratic values and behaviour.