What is direct democracy?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain what direct democracy is and explain its strengths and weaknesses.
Key learning points
- Direct democracy allows citizens to participate directly in decisions.
- Direct democracy can happen through the use of referendums or types of citizens' initiatives.
- Direct democracy exists regularly in Switzerland.
- Some representative democracies occasionally use forms of direct democracy such as the UK, US and New Zealand.
- Direct democracy can be costly and timely due to running regular referendums.
Keywords
Direct democracy - where the people decide on the policy directly, for example, through a vote or referendum on each issue
Referendum - a general vote by the electorate on a single political issue which has been referred to them for a direct decision; it is a form of direct democracy
Common misconception
All democratic countries are governed in the same way.
Democracy takes many different forms including direct democracy and representative democracy. Some representative democracies even include forms of direct democracy.
Teacher tip
Use real world examples of direct democracy such as referendums or initiatives to make direct democracy relatable and spark discussion.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is a key feature of a democratic system?
Q2.What does the Democracy Index measure?
Q3.Are all democracies across the world the same?
Q4.Match the term to its correct description.
the Prime Minister is Head of Government
the President is Head of State and Government
there is a Prime Minister and President
Q5.In a country, the people have the power to participate in decision-making, either directly or through elected representatives.
Q6.Which of the following is a democratic feature?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the best definition of direct democracy?
Q2.Match each country to how it uses direct democracy.
uses referendums on rare occasions
uses forms of direct democracy regularly
in some states, citizens can start a citizens' initative
Q3.A is a type of direct democracy where citizens vote on a single political issue.
Q4.Put the steps of a popular initiative in Switzerland into the correct order.
Q5.Which of the following is true about democracies?
Q6.Which of the following is a weakness of direct democracy?
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: What is direct democracy?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: What is direct democracy?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the How can politicians involve citizens in direct decision making? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.