The purpose of this study was to explore the issue of participation and civic engagement through the investigation of cyberspace as public space. The research systematically studied the development, nature, operation, and impact of k2k, a local cybergroup based in Knoxville, Tennessee. While the emergence of cyberspace as public space is no panacea for the ills of democracy in America, it is clearly a potential antidote to counter the more virulent dimensions must move beyond electronic discourse into the realm of action. This study found that as people participated in the cybergroup, they became more informed from the interaction with others and were motivated to bring more information to the group. This increased the knowledge of others in the group as well as the group's overall perception of efficacy within the community. As more people participated and disseminated both knowledge and strategy for community action, the greater community itself was affected. As a result, more people participated: passive participants tended to participate more actively, and active participants were more likely to increase their participation. Finally, this study considers the implications of the findings and proposes areas for further study.

There is widespread concern that the Internet is exacerbating inequalities between the information rich and poor.

The powerful potential of digital media to engage citizens in political actions has now crossed our news screens many times. But scholarly focus has tended to be on "networked," anti-institutional forms of collective action, to the neglect of advocacy and service organizations. This book investigates the changing fortunes of the citizen-civil society relationship by exploring how social changes and innovations in communication technology are transforming the information expectations and preferences of many citizens, especially young citizens. In doing so, it is the first work to bring together theories of civic identity change with research on civic organizations. Specifically, it argues that a shift in "information styles" may help to explain the disjuncture felt by many young people when it comes to institutional participation and politics. The book theorizes two paradigms of information style: a dutiful style, which was rooted in the society, communication system and citizen norms of the modern era, and an actualizing style, which constitutes the set of information practices and expectations of the young citizens of late modernity for whom interactive digital media are the norm. Hypothesizing that civil society institutions have difficulty adapting to the norms and practices of the actualizing information style, two empirical studies apply the dutiful/actualizing framework to innovative content analyses of organizations' online communications-on their websites, and through Facebook. Results demonstrate that with intriguing exceptions, most major civil society organizations use digital media more in line with dutiful information norms than actualizing ones: they tend to broadcast strategic messages to an audience of receivers, rather than encouraging participation or exchange among an active set of participants. The book concludes with a discussion of the tensions inherent in bureaucratic organizations trying to adapt to an actualizing information style, and recommendations for how they may more successfully do so.

This analysis of how the ability to participate in society online affects political and economic opportunity finds that technology use matters in wages and income and civic participation and voting. Just as education has promoted democracy and economic growth, the Internet has the potential to benefit society as a whole. Digital citizenship, or the ability to participate in society online, promotes social inclusion. But statistics show that significant segments of the population are still excluded from digital citizenship. The authors of this book define digital citizens as those who are online daily. By focusing on frequent use, they reconceptualize debates about the digital divide to include both the means and the skills to participate online. They offer new evidence (drawn from recent national opinion surveys and Current Population Surveys) that technology use matters for wages and income, and for civic engagement and voting. Digital Citizenship examines three aspects of participation in society online: economic opportunity, democratic participation, and inclusion in prevailing forms of communication. The authors find that Internet use at work increases wages, with less-educated and minority workers receiving the greatest benefit, and that Internet use is significantly related to political participation, especially among the young. The authors examine in detail the gaps in technological access among minorities and the poor and predict that this digital inequality is not likely to disappear in the near future. Public policy, they argue, must address educational and technological disparities if we are to achieve full participation and citizenship in the twenty-first century.

We are delighted to introduce the Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Progressive Education (ICOPE) 2020 hosted by the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Lampung, Indonesia, in the heart of the city Bandar Lampung on 16 and 17 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we took a model of an online organised event via Zoom. The theme of the 2nd ICOPE 2020 was “Exploring the New Era of Education”, with various related topics including Science Education, Technology and Learning Innovation, Social and Humanities Education, Education Management, Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, Teacher Professional Development, Curriculum and Instructions, Assessment and Evaluation, and Environmental Education. This conference has invited academics, researchers, teachers, practitioners, and students worldwide to participate and exchange ideas, experiences, and research findings in the field of education to make a better, more efficient, and impactful teaching and learning. This conference was attended by 190 participants and 160 presenters. Four keynote papers were delivered at the conference; the first two papers were delivered by Prof Emeritus Stephen D. Krashen from the University of Southern California, the USA and Prof Dr Bujang Rahman, M.Si. from Universitas Lampung, Indonesia. The second two papers were presented by Prof Dr Habil Andrea Bencsik from the University of Pannonia, Hungary and Dr Hisham bin Dzakiria from Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia. In addition, a total of 160 papers were also presented by registered presenters in the parallel sessions of the conference. The conference represents the efforts of many individuals. Coordination with the steering chairs was essential for the success of the conference. We sincerely appreciate their constant support and guidance. We would also like to express our gratitude to the organising committee members for putting much effort into ensuring the success of the day-to-day operation of the conference and the reviewers for their hard work in reviewing submissions. We also thank the four invited keynote speakers for sharing their insights. Finally, the conference would not be possible without the excellent papers contributed by authors. We thank all authors for their contributions and participation in the 2nd ICOPE 2020. We strongly believe that the 2nd ICOPE 2020 has provided a good forum for academics, researchers, teachers, practitioners, and students to address all aspects of education-related issues in the current educational situation. We feel honoured to serve the best recent scientific knowledge and development in education and hope that these proceedings will furnish scholars from all over the world with an excellent reference book. We also expect that the future ICOPE conference will be more successful and stimulating. Finally, it was with great pleasure that we had the opportunity to host such a conference.

This open access book presents an in-depth analysis of data from ICCS. An international group of scholars critically address the state of civic and citizenship education in the four Nordic countries that participated in the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) in 2009 and 2016. The findings are of particular relevance to educators at all levels, from school education through to teacher education. Nordic countries have long traditions of democracy and their students have performed relatively well in the ICCS assessments. Nonetheless, citizenship education continues to evolve and has received increasing attention in recent educational reforms, indicating policymakers understanding that schools play an important role in establishing democratic values among future citizens. Data from ICCS can be used to analyze, discuss, and reflect on the status of civic and citizenship education and can contribute to the discourse on the potential role of education in contributing to sustainable democracies for a common future. However, teaching citizenship and learning democracy are two different things. While young people can be taught about democracy in school, it is vital that schools work together with the wider community in which youth operate to strengthen civic understanding and values for all young people regardless of their social and economic background.

The Occupy movement and the Arab Spring have brought global attention to the potential of social media for empowering otherwise marginalized groups. This book addresses questions like what happens after the moment of protest and global visibility and whether social media can also help sustain civic engagement beyond protest.