The recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" (2023) and "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al." (2023), hereafter collectively referred to as "SFFA v. Harvard," have garnered attention, especially among…

This study explores social studies teachers' self-reported instruction about teaching the 2020 election in U.S. secondary schools. We analyzed survey responses from 1,723 secondary social studies teachers from 12 states (3 left-leaning, 3 right-leaning, 6 battleground) collected in the weeks after the election, examining self-reported pedagogies,…

The civic-minded graduate (CMG) construct provides a set of common civic learning objectives that can guide the design, implementation, and assessment of curricular and cocurricular civic engagement programs. This research examined components posited to be part of the CMG construct and found correlations between identity as a student and CMG,…

Building on a growing literature showing that early college high schools substantially improve educational outcomes, we investigate possible spillover impacts of this intervention on civic outcomes in North Carolina, which houses an early college in most of its counties. We present both lottery and observational impacts on voting and criminal…

The literature on civic engagement in higher education is rich with examples of courses and programs that promote the development of students as engaged citizens in our democracy. However, few of them involve the arts. This fact is unfortunate because all forms of engagement with the arts is an important and effective means of achieving our civic…

Wicked problems have multiple causes, require multifaceted solutions, and have no clear ending point at which the problem is truly solved. Encouraging respectful discourse on campus presented itself as a wicked problem at [institution name removed for the purposes of blind review] when, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. unity march in January 2018,…

In this preliminary study, the Global Engagement Survey (GES) was used to assess developmental outcomes in undergraduate students enrolled in a multi-year community-based global learning program. Statistically significant growth was observed on the Civic Efficacy (CE) scale of the GES (p = 0.01). The GES appears to have significant utility in the…

Research on individuals' experiences engaging in outdoor education programs suggests participants are impacted in a number of ways. This study investigated the impact of participation in a wilderness education course on undergraduates' experiences with public service. This study asked the research question, what is the impact of an Outward Bound…

In this article Willie James Jennings opens this discussion by noting that he lives in the midst of a North Carolina gun culture, the intensity of which is quite overwhelming. He asks how we might educate against the specific seductive powers of the weapon and especially the gun? As an educator, Jennings believes that clearly, the unmaking of…

The purpose of this lesson is to engage young students in thinking about the complexity of socio-historical symbols in the present day. After careful preparation, the authors decided to teach about the decision by the state legislature in July 2015 to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds. Presenting the…

The aim of this qualitative research study is to understand the decision-making process of Hispanic adults who have lived in the United States at least 15 years, have English as a second language, have less education than other recent immigrant waves, and have become citizens within the past four years. Narrative inquiry and photovoice were the…

A decade of research on school discipline has made society keenly aware of the "elephant in the room." Overwhelmingly, Black students are "wounded" permanently when they are suspended over and over for offenses that are overlooked when their white counterparts commit the same infraction. Since Black students are suspended…

Some private, religious schools that accept vouchers have been accused of discriminating against certain populations of students through their admissions processes. Discriminating against disfavored groups (e.g., racial minorities, LGBT students, students with disabilities, religious minorities) in voucher programs raises both legal and policy…

This study seeks to understand one facet of leadership development among the newest members of a Greek Letter community at a southern university. New Members (NMs) of the Greek Community at North Carolina State University were administered the Socially Responsible Leadership Survey (SRLS Guidebook, 2005) during the Fall, 2011. Results indicate…

There is no better site for political or democratic action than the school itself and the students' own community, according to educational philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952). Learning about local government provides students with authentic examples of democratic processes and institutions that shape their daily lives. Getting involved in local…