Exercising Deliberative Democracy

Deliberative democracy is the core concept of CBSG. Lay persons in a community deliberate on issues that immediately concern them, such as education, and find solutions that benefit the entire community. A school is a place where deliberative democracy can be exercised by selecting community residents from diverse backgrounds and mediating their differences through, for example, school boards and councils. Such a process could strengthen trust between schools, civilians, and community residents. However, the CBSG in BiH faces significant challenges, including a lack of community interest in school governance, a lack of autonomy, and board members’ reluctance to discuss contentious issues. In addition, school leaders tend to undermine the values of lay control. These school leaders need to change their understanding of the leadership role, away from the socialist notion of autonomous professionals to that of facilitators of deliberative democracy. They can foster dialogue among community representatives and build their capacity for school leadership. Lay members seem to support social cohesion through CBSG, which increases the school’s legitimacy.