Imagine an America where politicians, governmental institutions, schools, new technologies, and interest groups work together to promote informed, engaged citizens. Civic Education in the Twenty-First Century brings together scholars from various disciplines to show how such a United States is possible today. Inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville’s analysis of American democracy in the early 1800s, this edited volume represents a multidimensional evaluation of civic education in its new and varied forms. While some lament a civics crisis in America today, Civic Education in the Twenty-First Century raises hope that we can have an informed and active citizenry. We find the activities of a number of politicians, government institutions, schools and interest groups as promising developments in the struggle to educate and engage Americans in their democracy. New technologies and new innovations in civic education have laid the foundation for a revitalized American civic ecology. With Civic Education in the Twenty-First Century, we call for the United States to make these practices less isolated and more common throughout the county. The volume is broken into three major sections. First there are four chapters exploring the history and philosophical debates about civic education, particularly with respect to its role in America’s educational institutions. Then, the second section provides seven groundbreaking inquiries into how politicians and political institutions can promote civic education and engagement through their routine operations. As some examples, this section explores how politicians through campaigns and judiciaries through community programs enhance civic knowledge and encourage civic engagement. This section also explores how new technologies like the Internet and social media are increasingly used by government institutions and other entities to encourage a more politically informed and engaged citizenry. Finally, the third section contains six chapters that explore programs and practices in higher education that are enhancing civic education, engagement and our knowledge of them. From the virtual civics campus of Fort Hayes State to citizens’ academies throughout the country, this section shows the possibilities for schools today to once again be civics actors and promoters.

This seminar discussed the civic preparation that educators themselves need to enable them to better prepare elementary and secondary students to become more effective and responsible citizens. The proceedings began with a paper on "Civil Learning for Teachers: Capstone for Educational Reform," by R. Freeman Butts. Following this, the five general sessions of the conference are presented. The focus of the first session was the different meanings of civic learning. Papers presented were: "Thinking Publicly about Civic Learning: An Agenda for Education Reform in the 80s" (Barbara Finkelstein); "Thinking about Civic Education" (James M. Banner, Jr.); "Civic Education: Parsing the Problem" (Bernard Murchland); and "Comparisons on Civic Education" (Mary Anne Raywid). The second general session dealt with what the humanities should contribute to the civic learning of teachers and administrators. Papers presented were: "The Humanities of Civic Learning" (Sidney Hook); "Getting the House in Order" (Larry T. McGehee); "Informed Consent: The Humanities as Civic Education" (Donald R. Warren); and "Civic Learning and the Humanities: Some Presuppositions of the Inquiry" (Christopher J. Lucas). The third general session dealt with the question of what the social sciences should contribute to the civic learning of teachers and administrators. Papers presented were: "Reflections on Potential Contributions of the Social Sciences to Civic Education, with Special Reference to Schools of Public Affairs" (Manfred Stanley); "The Social Sciences and the Civic Education of Teachers and Administrators" (James P. Shaver); "Constitutional and Legal History and the Civic Learning of Teachers and Administrators" (Paul L. Murphy); and "Evidence for Balancing Content with Process and Balancing Answers with Questions: The Contribution of Psychology to the Civic Education of Teachers" (Judith Torney-Purta). The fourth general session concerned the contribution that schools of education should make to the civic learning of teachers and administrators. Papers presented were: "Needed Decisions in the Civic Education of Teachers: An Agenda for Action" (Richard E. Gross); "Essential Decisions and Consensus" (Charles A. Tesconi, Jr.); and "The Social Context for Essential Decisions" (Faustine C. Jones-Wilson). The fifth general session discussed what schools of law and public administration should contribute to the civic learning of teachers and administrators. Papers presented were: "What Schools of Law Could Contribute to the Civic Learning of the Teaching Profession" (C. Hugh Friedman); and "The Recovery of Civism in Public Administration" (H. George Frederickson). Other seminar presentations included "The Centrality of Public Education" (J. Myron Atkin) and "Intersecting Themes" (Donald Kennedy). Reports of the discussion groups are also included. (RM)

This book chronicles the progression of civic education advocacy since the early 2000s. It identifies the main actors that called for civic education reform, describes their motivations and policy platforms, and documents the path taken to capture state policy agendas. It argues that No Child Left Behind incentivized civic education advocates to mobilize a “call to action” to restore emphasis on civics that materialized into national policy reform proposals that successfully captured the agendas of state legislatures and bureaucracies. This book analyzes the implementation and sustainability of these civic education policy reforms by undertaking a comparative case study analysis of school districts in Utah and Connecticut. Through the voices of teachers and district administrators, the book tells the story of what happened when these state policy reforms inspired by national initiatives hit the local level where the rubber meets the road. As ideological debates about schools and democracy unfold across the country, as civic education advocates and proposals proliferate, this book treats civic education not as panacea but as a concrete policy area to be analyzed and understood. It contextualizes the current debate and offers a critical assessment of the most recent, comprehensive state-level civic education policy reform. It argues that while questions linger about what type of civic-inspired educational interventions remains most effective for whom, where, and why, the implementation of such interventions are profoundly impacted by local actors and local politics and that future initiatives should take this dimension into consideration.

Speaking to the need to move beyond traditional formulations, this textbook presents radical visions for transforming civic education in the United States. Drawing on the experience of educators and scholars—including those rooted in feminist, queer, abolitionist, global, and race-conscious perspectives—this work offers new, practical ideas for civic education reform. Responding to recent political crises, many scholars, educators, and public commentators have called for a rebirth of civic education, but these all are grounded in the premise that the goal of civic education should be to teach students about the U.S. Constitutional system and how to operate within it. This book argues that the U.S. governmental system, including the Constitution, is infused with racist and anti-democratic premises and procedures. It asks: How can we seek a new path—one that is more democratic, more equitable, and more humane? A diverse range of leading civic educators, who are willing not just to push the boundaries of civic education but to operate outside its assumptions altogether, explore what future possibilities for civic education might look like and how these innovative ideas could be implemented in the classroom. Combining theory with practice, The Future of Civic Education will be important reading for those studying or researching in social studies methods, social studies issues, citizenship, and civic education. It will also be beneficial to social studies teachers at elementary and secondary levels, as well as policymakers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Reveals the possibilities and challenges of civic education in circumstances of extreme polarization, and how civic learning and political divisiveness can interact and influence each other As fears about polarization—and its contribution to democratic crisis and corrosion—rise, many people have posited civic education as a possible remedy. In a time of increasing political polarization, what should the goals of civic education be, and how should they be implemented? In the latest installment of the NOMOS series, Eric Beerbohm and Elizabeth Beaumont bring together a distinguished group of interdisciplinary scholars across philosophy, politics, and law, inviting us to think deeply about the complex promises and pitfalls of civic education. Contributors raise a variety of crucial considerations not only about how to educate citizens in a polarized era but also for a polarized era. What types of civic learning hold promise for preparing students to navigate their way through a political landscape of escalating hostile factions, distrust, truth decay, and disagreement about basic facts? Could or should civic education attempt to reduce or counteract polarization, or should it focus on other aims? Beaumont and Beerbohm show us that the dynamics and circumstances of polarization do not stop at the schoolhouse gates, but bring new urgency together with added pressures and constraints to all civic education. As political polarization continues to intensify across the globe, this riveting volume illuminates the significance, the possibilities, and the challenges of civic education in the contemporary era.

The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools (2011) lamented the “lack of high-quality civic education in America’s schools [that] leaves millions of citizens without the wherewithal to make sense of our system of government” (p. 4). Preus et al. (2016) cited literature to support their observation of “a decline in high-quality civic education and a low rate of civic engagement of young people” (p. 67). Shapiro and Brown (2018) asserted that “civic knowledge and public engagement is at an all-time low” (p. 1). Writing as a college senior, Flaherty (2020) urged educators to “bravely interpret ... national, local, and even school-level incidents as chances for enhanced civic education and to discuss them with students in both formal and casual settings” (p. 6). In this eighth volume in the Current Perspectives on School/University/Community Research series, we feature the work of brave educators who are engaged in schooluniversity-community collaborative educational endeavors. Authors focus on a wide range of projects oriented to civic education writ large—some that have been completed and some that are still in progress—but all authors evince the passion for civic education that underpins engagement in the democratic project.