Whose responsibility is it in Higher Education to develop undergraduate students’ notion of democratic citizenship?

In an era of globalisation, nation states are under increasing pressure to shape sustainable societies and economies. As a result, governments continue to advocate for a reassessment of the role that universities can play in developing students who are able to demonstrate democratic citizenship by their application of democratic principles. This paper introduces the notion that although universities actively promote their ideals to students about raising their awareness of becoming ethical, socially and environmentally responsible citizens, clear leadership and guidelines regarding how to motivate students to incorporate and apply these ideals in their studies remains much more problematic for teaching staff. This Case Study provides an in-depth analysis of how Third Space Theory has been applied to an Australian university context in order to develop two modes of instruction which have been designed to enhance first year students’ competencies in democratic principles and citizenship. This paper concludes that despite the participants of this study encountering some success in raising awareness of these modes of instruction and their benefits to students, further institutional refinements need to occur before pedagogical approaches to develop democratic citizenship can be more widely taken up by Faculty and students. If this can be achieved, higher education providers are much more likely to influence how graduates exhibit their competencies in democratic engagement with others and the world around them.