What Makes a School Culture Democratic? From the perspective of pre-service teachers

This research aims to reveal how prospective teachers express democratic school culture. It is a descriptive study using a phenomenological design to examine preservice teachers' views on the characteristics of a democratic school, employing qualitative research techniques. In this context, the study aims to highlight learning opportunities about creating and maintaining democratic processes and reflectives related to its implementation. This study follows a qualitative research approach within a phenomenological model. The study group consists of 221 senior prospective teachers.A convenient sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data. The research concludes that the characteristics of prospective teachers regarding democratic school culture fall under the categories of (i) student, (ii) teacher, (iii) parent, (iv) school administration, and (v) learning environment. According to the findings, the most expressed characteristics were self expression respect for human rights, equality and participation. In schools with a democratic culture, there is a learning environment and management that respect human rights. It is seen that teachers treat everyone equally and that students can express themselves and participation.The importance of creating a participatory school culture that includes values, beliefs, and attitudes supporting democratic principles and institutions among citizens, as a requirement of democracy, is discussed.