Teachers need new instructional strategies and systemwide support to educate students about the threats that racism, hyper-partisanship, and disinformation pose to democracy. Nicole Mirra, Sarah McGrew, Joseph Kahne, Antero Godina Garcia, and Brendesha Tynes explore the three major elements of digital citizenship education -- safety and civility,…

Amid hyper-partisanship, increasing critiques of civic education reform priorities from conservatives, and growing signs of democratic backsliding, can schools provide foundational support for democratic norms, commitments, and capacities? Drawing on a unique national survey of high school principals conducted in 2018, we examine how political…

A healthy democracy requires informed citizens on all sides of the political spectrum but extreme political polarization creates significant challenges. This study examines how teachers conceptualize civic education in an ideologically and racially diverse school district. Embedded within a research-practice partnership, this case offers timely…

The digital revolution has enabled important changes in political life. Opportunities to engage in "participatory politics" have expanded significantly. Participatory politics differ from institutional politics in that they are peer-based, interactive, and not guided by deference to traditional elites and institutions. These changes…

In this article, the authors review the state of civic education in schools. They point out that students typically "take only one semester-long course on American government"--unlike the situation in the 1960s, when it was common "for students to take multiple courses in civics covering not only the structure of American government, but also the…

Educators and policymakers increasingly pursue programs that aim to strengthen democracy through civic education, service learning, and other pedagogies. Their underlying beliefs, however, differ. This article calls attention to the spectrum of ideas about what good citizenship is and what good citizens do that are embodied in democratic education…

Introduces special section on democracy and civic engagement containing a series of articles arguing for the importance to a democratic society of continuing to emphasize the teaching of civics in schools. (Contains 12 references.)(PKP)

We employed a quasi-experimental design using pre/post surveys and comparisons with control groups to examine the impact of the Constitutional Rights Foundation's CityWorks (U.S.A.) curriculum. In particular, we assessed its ability to further democratic aims by supporting the development of three forms of social capital: norms of civic…

Describes common curricular components of 10 education programs to teach students democratic citizenship. Highlights characteristics of three programs: a high school government course, a college-level program, and an adult education program. Describes three broad priorities of successful programs: commitment, capacity, and connection. Includes a…

Highlights three areas of research on the relationships between college service learning and citizenship. Discusses the need to: understand relationships between different approaches to service learning and conceptions of good citizenship; connect service learning research to scholarly issues and frameworks from related disciplines; and examine…

The difference between charity and change provides an important conceptual distinction for those analyzing service-learning curricula and learning objectives. In the moral domain, service-learning activities tend toward giving or caring; in the political domain, such activities can embrace either civic duty or social reconstruction; in the…

Examines the learning opportunities students have related to the democratic purposes of schooling in eighth, ninth, and tenth grade social studies classrooms. Explains five frameworks identified for linking curricular strategies to the preparation of citizens and the rubrics used to code observations in Chicago (Illinois) social studies classrooms…