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After the introduction of The Knowledge Promotion (Kunnskapsløftet) in 2006, different forms of criticism have been leveled against the Norwegian Curriculum. Some main points in the critique have been; that the number and scope of the competence aims is too comprehensive; too little emphasis on democratic education; a lack of connection between the general part of the curriculum and subject-specific curricula. In this article, we examine social studies teachers’ narratives about how they utilize different parts of the curriculum from the perspective of democratic education. That means, in essence, that we explore if and how teachers plan their instruction in order for students to acquire knowledge, skills, and values they can utilize in their role as democratic citizens, in addition to the practical ability to act that students derive from experiencing and practicing democracy both in and outside the classroom. A main argument is that most social studies teachers plan their instruction based on the subject-specific competence aims. The general part of the curriculum, where democratic education is highlighted, does not constitute an articulated part of instruction. Against this background it can be argued, from the perspective of democratic education, that it is problematic if the goal-centered rationality underpinning the competence aims is too dominant for the way teaching is practiced, and that this might prevent students from experiencing and practicing democracy in school.

In this article, we explore teachers’ ideas about teaching for democratic citizenship. In short, we want to understand “what kind of citizen” teachers aim to educate. We ground our study in three ideal types that represent different ways of understanding what education for democratic citizenship education revolves around: politically informed citizenship (politisk informert medborgerskap), rational autonomous citizenship (rasjonelt autonomt medborgerskap), and socially intelligent citizenship (sosialt intelligent medborgerskap). A first finding is that teacher emphasize that students should acquire knowledge that they can make use of as democratic citizens. Teachers are preoccupied with making students politically informed. A second finding is, however, that teachers understand democratic citizenship education as something more than just knowledge acquisition. One purpose that holds high priority with the teachers is that students should learn how to think critically; to become rationally autonomous. The pedagogical implication of this view is that students should acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that helps realize this ambition. This interpretation of what democratic citizenship is moves beyond being able to make an informed choice between different alternatives or representatives. In the last part of the article education for democratic citizenship is discussed in light of the third category; the socially intelligent citizen. We find that while teachers put much emphasis on knowledge and critical thinking, there is little emphasis on participation in democratic practices. We thus conclude that teachers talk about schooling as a tool for democracy much more than they talk about democracy as an ideal or model for schooling.