ABSTRACT
Imagine you were visiting a school in a totalitarian nation governed by a singleparty dictatorship. Would the educational experiences be markedly different from the ones experienced by children in your local school? I do not ask this question facetiously. It seems plausible, for example, that a good curriculum used to teach multiplication, fractions or a foreign language-perhaps with some adjustments for cultural relevance and suitability-would serve equally well in most parts of the world. But if you stepped into a school and asked to observe a lesson related to the country’s political ideals about governance or civic or political participation, would you be able to tell whether you were in a totalitarian nation or a democratic one?
