How do others govern?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how both a democratic and non-democratic government outside of the UK work.
Key learning points
- Countries are governed in different ways depending on their political system.
- Democratic countries, such as Belgium, protect rights, allow elections and encourage citizen participation.
- Non-democratic countries, such as China, concentrate power and limit freedoms.
Keywords
Government - the group of people with the authority to govern a country; in the UK, the Government is chosen and led by the Prime Minister (PM)
Democracy - a system of government in which citizens vote in regular, fair elections for representatives who then make laws and decisions on their behalf
Common misconception
One type of government is better than the other.
It is not always that simple. Every country governs differently and the effectiveness of a government depends on many factors such as how well it protects people’s rights, ensures fairness and responds to citizens' needs.
Teacher tip
Before the lesson, review current Democracy Index scores and recent events for the countries you are using to ensure accuracy and relevance. This helps pupils see how political systems evolve and how current events affect democracy in action.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A system is a set of processes and structures that work together to make political decisions and manage a country's governance.
Q2.Who makes the decisions in representative democracies?
Q3.Match the system to its description.
the executive is a Prime Minister and linked to the legislature
the Head of Government is elected separately from the legislature
has elements of both parliamentary and presidential systems
Q4.Which of the following is a key characteristic of a parliamentary system of government?
Q5.In a presidential system, the President...
Q6.The separation of powers ensures that no single branch of government has too much power, and that the legislative, executive and branches each have their own responsibilities.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the Democracy Index category to its examples.
strong protection of rights, free elections, active political culture
elections held but some issues might exist such as low turnout
elections might be rigged and issues exist, e.g., weak rule of law
one leader or party in charge, no opposition, limited freedoms
Q2.Order the countries from most to least democratic, as per the 2024 Democracy Index.
Q3.What is a key feature of a democratic government?
Q4.In a non-democratic country, the Government often freedoms and controls key areas like media and elections.
Q5.Every country governs differently and the effectiveness of a depends on many factors such as how well it protects people’s rights, ensures fairness and responds to citizens' needs.
Q6.Which of the following are examples of non-democratic governments?
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How do others govern?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How do others govern?, 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 do democratic systems work around the world? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.