The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (C&S) is fundamentally rethinking how young people prepare to be productive lifelong citizens. A critical element of this work is engaging youth at the intersection of community and civic life. C&S' work has proven that significant civic learning takes place in after-school programs, on the sports…

This study informs the field of education of the importance of providing a wide variety of extracurricular activities for students and its effect on students' community leadership development. Data were collected from college students (N = 705) and analyzed using quantitative methodology. Results indicate that high involvement level students…

There is a growing trend within civics education within the United States to adopt the USCIS naturalization civics exam (commonly referred to as the 'citizenship test'), which consists of 100 multiple choice questions, to determine the civic readiness of students. This study explores civics education within eight US states that have adopted the…

In this article, the authors tackle the tension between a fact-based civics test and inquiry-based teaching and learning. The authors begin with a short history on the civics test and the new standards in Kentucky before turning their attention to one approach to the civics test using an Inquiry Design Model (IDM) inquiry--"Does the civics…

While United States citizens are not compelled to cast a ballot in any given election, the act of voting is often referred to as a civic duty. By actively taking part in local, regional, and national elections, the voter is fulfilling one aspect of what it means to be an active, engaged citizen. Among the responsibilities of individual secretaries…

Community engagement and philanthropic learning have gained traction in university settings as a method to help prepare students for both workplace competency and citizenship. Experiential student philanthropy is a learning method that offers students an opportunity to examine community and social issues and nonprofit organizations while providing…

In this article, the author discusses how teachers can develop empathy in students through reading and writing about literature, which contributes to their development as citizens in a global community. By choosing texts that trigger empathic reactions, English teachers can help students better understand others' experiences with oppression and…

University professors use film as a medium to examine social issues, although little is known about the tangible effects that socially minded films have on viewers. This study examined how combining film studies with a philanthropy project was beneficial to students' understanding of global social concerns. Survey data showed that with this…

The study aimed to compare the perceptions of Egyptian and US students on global issues. The authors developed a survey of global issues and administered it to sample of 321 Geography students in the USA and Egypt. The survey tapped five issues: global citizenship, cultural diversity, global conflicts, nuclear arms race, and global warming. The…

Teacher educators have an obligation to prepare preservice teachers with the skills and dispositions necessary to promote a socially just world. Yet the results of this study uncovered that the majority of elementary preservice teachers in a national sample (N = 846) have a simplistic perception of good citizenship consistent with what Westheimer…

Community-based education programs must demonstrate effectiveness to various funding sources. The pilot study reported here (funded by CYFAR, NIFA, USDA award #2008-41520-04810) had the goal of determining if state level programs with varied curriculum could use a common evaluation tool to demonstrate efficacy. Results in parenting and youth…

We examine the influence of factual and perceived world knowledge on global citizenship identification. Perceived world knowledge directly predicted global citizenship identification, while factual world knowledge did not (Study 1). Students' factual (Study 1) and perceived (Study 2) world knowledge predicted students' normative environment…

In a democracy, agents of political socialization, such as schools and parents, generally emphasize the importance of voting. While college students may be exposed briefly to voter registration as a barrier to participation, there is little evidence that the topic is given serious attention in the classroom. This research addresses how classroom…

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent do CTSOs affect student psychosocial and achievement outcomes (above and beyond stand-alone CTE programs) when controlling for gender and race. Using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, a total of 5,677 students from 10 states were surveyed regarding their high school…

In this article, the author presents an excerpt from his speech delivered at the Foundation for Technology Education (FTE) Spirit of Excellence Breakfast in Louisville, Kentucky, in Marcy 2009. The author focuses on people whose work reflect excellence and social responsibility. He uses this frame of excellence and social responsibility to reflect…