As immigrants account for an increasing proportion of American youth, understanding how these young people experience change in their citizenship status is an important, yet rarely examined area for research. There is a plethora of evidence that opportunities to participate in American society are stratified according to class, race and ethnicity.…

Within contemporary developmental science, models derived from relational developmental systems (RDS) metatheory emphasize that the basic process of human development involves mutually-influential relations, termed developmental regulations, between the developing individual and his or her complex and changing physical, social, and cultural…

While most states require testing in social studies or civic education, two states attach consequences for students and schools based on required statewide civics exams. Lawmakers in Florida, in 2010, and in Tennessee, in 2012, approved legislation that holds students accountable for their civics knowledge. Students are taking the tests for the…

This study examined the perspectives of a sample of Appalachian middle and high school social studies teachers regarding the teaching of controversial current events. Specifically, the survey ascertained the teachers' familiarity with school district administrative policies regarding the teaching of controversial current events, their perceptions…

The study compares faculty and school demographics in selected high school science classrooms to expand the research on women with careers in science. The classrooms are either situated in "high need Local Education Agencies" or the classrooms are situated in "low-performing schools," as categorized by the Florida Department of…

This empirical study explored the impact of service-learning participation on high school students' attitudes toward academic engagement and civic responsibility. This study focused whether a group of high school students who participated in a service-learning project had more positive attitudes toward academic engagement and civic responsibility…

For the first time in the history of American education, educators and policymakers are setting their sights on reaching the goal of preparing all students graduating from high school to meet the requirements of postsecondary education, professional careers and effective citizenship. The 2004 report, "Ready or Not: Creating a High School…

Over the past three decades, the environmental justice movement has developed out of growing concern about unequal distribution of environmental harm and unequal access to environmental resources. The mainstream environmental movement has been criticized for failing to address adequately environmental justice issues. Several scholars have claimed…

This is an exploratory study to determine whether the way in which attitudes about citizenship actions were measured would predict American students' endorsement of those actions. In a split-half design, half of the student respondents completed a questionnaire in which they rated the extent to which various citizenship actions were important; the…

Because the national education agenda is focused on standards, testing, and accountability, schools are at risk of narrowly defining their mission as improving test scores. In this environment, it is easy to forget that public education serves a larger civic mission. Preserving and promoting a democratic society was the founding precept of the…

The Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study, conducted by the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), aims to identify, measure and evaluate the extent to which effective practice in citizenship education develops in schools so that such practice can be promoted widely. The…