Through the power of social media and increased access to mobile technology, our country is witnessing a rise in college student-led protests and mobilizing to try to challenge racism on college campuses (Curwen, Song, & Gordon, 2015). One of the key functions of higher education institutions is cultivating our engaged citizenry (Hurtado, 2007). We know civic engagement in college influences future civic participation of students (Coley & Sum, 2012). However, very little is known about the factors in college that promote civic engagement of students. The purpose of this study is to explore the institutional- and student-level characteristics that affect the development of students' level of civic values after four years of college enrollment, utilizing data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), a longitudinal dataset of college students. Overall, this study found differences in the factors that promote civic values of students based on race/ethnicity and institutional contexts. More specifically, various civic-related curricular and co-curricular college experiences and institutional contexts influenced the development of civic values of racial/ethnic minority students differently. For example, service learning, a proven curricular approach that promotes the civic values and engagement of students, negatively influenced the civic values of Latina/o students. Additionally, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Institutions (AANAPISIs) were particularly influential in promoting civic values, but only for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students. Moreover, the same factors that influenced civic values also influenced student's aspirations to pursue a career in service. The findings will help higher education researchers and practitioners understand the student- and institutional-level factors that promote the development of civic values in higher education, as well as shed light on which higher education institutions develop the next generation of leaders and engaged citizens.

"This Kettering Foundation report by Bernie Ronan comes at a critical time in the effort to strengthen the role of higher education in a democracy. In the last 20 years, higher education institutions have begun to pay a great deal of attention to the civic engagement of college students. Nevertheless, proponents of civic engagement in higher education are now reporting a certain sense of "drift" or of having reached a "plateau." A key issue in this impasse is the lack of consensus over whether and how civic engagement efforts should be directed toward outcomes that can be considered "political." Reinforced by signals they receive from their institutions, students may, ironically, see civic engagement as an alternative to politics, and come away from their experiences with even less confidence in their capacities as citizens. Ronan's "spectrum" approach to civic learning offers an ingenious conceptual (and strategic) solution to this problem. As a developmental framework, the civic spectrum recognizes the importance of beginning with students where they are, but also of connecting them to a robust conception of citizenship through experiences of collective decision making and cooperative action across differences that are sorely lacking in the current higher education landscape." --Kettering Foundation web site

Teaching Civic Engagement provides an exploration of key theoretical discussions, innovative ideas, and best practices in educating citizens in the 21st century. The book addresses theoretical debates over the place of civic engagement education in Political Science. It offers pedagogical examples in several sub-fields, including evidence of their effectiveness and models of appropriate assessment. Written by political scientists from a range of institutions and subfields, Teaching Civic Engagement makes the case that civic and political engagement should be a central part of our mission as a discipline.

Critical race theory (CRT) in education centers, examines and seeks to transform the relationship that undergirds race, racism, and power. CRT scholars have applied a critical race framework to advance research methodologies in the form of qualitative interventions. Informed by this work, this book reconsiders the possibilities of CRT applications to quantitative methodologies through 'QuantCrit'. This volume posits the question: How can quantitative methods, long critiqued for their inability to capture the nuance of everyday experience, support and further a critical race agenda in educational research? It provides a starting point for how QuantCrit principles are employed by interdisciplinary contributions in race and quantitative studies. The contributors to the book examine the legacy and genealogy of QuantCrit traditions across disciplines to uncover a rich lineage of methodological possibilities for disrupting racism in research. They argue that quantitative approaches cannot be adopted for racial justice aims without an ontological reckoning that considers historical, social, political, and economic power relations. Only then can quantitative approach be re-imagined and rectified. This book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of Education, Sociology, Social Work, Politics, and Racial and Ethnic Studies. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal, Race Ethnicity and Education.

More than a century ago, John Dewey challenged the education community to look to civic involvement for the betterment of both community and campus. Today, the challenge remains. In his landmark book, editor Thomas Ehrlich has collected essays from national leaders who have focused on civic responsibility and higher education. Imparting both philosophy and working examples, Ehrlich provides the inspiration for innovative new programs in this essential area of learning.

In this edited volume, authors explore the ways in which departments, programs, and centers at public research universities are working to better engage students in the work of citizenship and social justice. The chapters in this book illuminate the possibilities and challenges for developing community engagement experiences and provide evidence of the effects of these efforts on communities and undergraduate students’ development of citizenship outcomes. This text reveals how important the integration of our intentions and actions are to create a community engaged practice aimed towards justice.