A report by the National Commission on Civic Renewal has sounded alarms about the declining quantity and quality of citizen engagement in U.S. political and civic life. According to the Commission the overall civic condition is weaker than it was and in need of significant improvement. To renew the constructive engagement of citizens in political…

In this paper, the questions of whether or not the transmission of common civic values and commitments to society should be a major goal of U.S. schools is considered. The effects of classroom, school, and society on civic values and attitudes are addressed in terms of: (1) the curriculum and classroom instruction; (2) school structures and…

In this introduction to a series of articles blending perspectives of political science and citizenship education, the author stresses the need for a variety of citizenship skills in voter education programs and for an emphasis on learning by doing. (AV)

Offers a concept learning lesson in which secondary students explore the subject of federalism. Application exercises are used at the end of each main section in order for students to apply what they have learned. (BSR)

The major goal of a study sponsored by the Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association was to provide information about the state of history education in each of the United States, to be used constructively to appraise and improve school-based history education. This report addresses teacher certification in…

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…

Discusses the historical and ecological significance of Christopher Columbus' contacts with the Americas. Suggests that 1992's Columbian quincentennial can be an occasion for improving teaching about Columbus. Underscores teachers' responsibility to provide a multidimensional view of the explorer's times. Cites the need to balance teaching about…

Historic preservation, as an illuminator of U.S. history and culture, can be used to support and enhance the curriculum of elementary and secondary schools. In line with the mission of schools, historic preservation involves the maintenance of culture--the sites, structures, and objects that constitute the tangible legacy from the past and reflect…

Suggestions are offered for teaching about three kinds of decisions in electoral politics which all citizens face: deciding whether to participate, deciding how to participate, and deciding for whom to vote. (AV)

Reviews the political history surrounding the development of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Includes a shortened and simplified version of the major articles of the Ordinance. Identifies three instructional resources for teaching about the Northwest Ordinance in secondary schools. (JDH)

Judicial review is a fundamental facet of constitutional government in the United States. Invented during the founding of the United States, judicial review has spread to most constitutional democracies of the world. This digest discusses: (1) the concept of judicial review; (2) the origin of this concept; (3) the uses of this concept in U.S.…

Discusses what NAEP and NPAS assessments of learning about science reveal about the development of scientific awareness among the citizenry. Summarizes findings of the National Science Foundation-sponsored nationwide studies of precollege curriculums in science, mathematics, and social science dealing with the status of science in the education of…

Discusses the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education (ERIC/ChESS). Identifies three trends pertaining to the teaching and learning of history, geography, and civics in elementary and secondary schools. Examines pertinent issues in each trend area, and states that through regular use of ERIC/ChESS resources, teachers can…

A new report sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement reviews and interprets research on school-based civic education in the United States. Fifty-six leading experts provided the content of the report, reviewed and modified the draft version, and endorsed it. This…

Leaders of nascent democracies, such as Lithuania, quickly understood that effective civic education is indispensable to the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of their institutions of government and civil society. They readily turned to civic educators in the United States, the world's oldest democracy, for advice about how to prepare…