Deliberative Democracy as an End without Means: From Experience-based to Competency-based Pedagogies in Support of Transformative Learning

This article traces the reconceptualization of a primarily co-curricular undergraduate enrichment program, from experienced-based to competency-based development. It argues that, rather than holding a central place in the program’s curriculum, the concept of “deliberative democracy” that grounds the program is best understood as an abstract, implicit concept that informs longer-term goals and objectives. This article briefly describes the initial configuration of the program, discusses the reasons for the decision to shift to a competency-based structure, describes the nature of and basis for the transformations, and traces the relationship between program structure and technologies that support the students’ work and learning. The initial aim of the program, to enable “deliberative democratic participation,” offered students and program administrators an end but no means to achieve that objective. The transformation described here focuses on means toward that end, specifically on the competencies needed to ground such participation. To address these challenges, the authors created a framework of scaffolded, interlinked competencies, a system of informal and formal reflections that foster critical self-assessment, and a cluster of student-centered pedagogies and mentoring that guides them toward connecting their experiences to the competencies, as they define the path toward social justice that they have chosen to walk.