We live in a global era of transcendent democracy. According to recent surveys by Freedom House, most peoples of the world favor democracy over other types of government. A global revival of education for democratic citizenship accompanies the worldwide resurgence of democracy. Diverse peoples in various parts of the world commonly understand that…

In February 1990, the President and state governors proclaimed a set of six national education goals to prompt profound improvements in schools and student achievement by the year 2000. These six goals reflect widely held concerns that most Americans have not been receiving the kind of education they need to meet the challenges of twenty-first…

As educators abroad have turned to U.S. colleagues for advice about how to teach democratic citizenship, U.S. educators have been challenged to think more carefully about what civic education is, how to do it, and how to justify it. This paper reflects and deliberates about three key questions: (1) What, exactly, is a common education for…

Great ideas about law, government, and the rights of individuals, embedded in U.S. founding documents, are the connective cords by which national unity and civic identity have been maintained in the United States from the 1770s until today. To be a citizen is to understand and have a reasonable commitment to the ideas in the founding documents.…

The U.S. Constitution and the Northwest Ordinance are foundations of U.S. civic culture. Since they are among the most important legacies U.S. citizens have, they deserve a prominent place in the curricula of schools and the general education of citizens. But most people do not adequately understand the Constitution and lack both awareness and…

This report discusses what should be taught in history and social sciences courses, and how the material should be taught. Differing views of educational leaders as well as results of recent research and studies are summarized. The following propositions are offered as stimulators of inquiry and as tentative guides to practice: (1) the greatest…