ERIC Number: EJ1201015
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-055X
EISSN: N/A
Call Your Representatives: Connecting Classroom Learning to Real-World Policy Action
Ghoshal, Raj
Teaching Sociology, v47 n1 p51-58 Jan 2019
This article presents an in-class exercise that teaches students how to call elected officials about a course-related issue of their choice. The goals are to connect classroom learning with real-life action, to show that contacting elected officials need not be difficult or intimidating, and to help students develop a sense of efficacy that can contribute to ongoing engagement. I describe the exercise and present evidence that it led students to call their elected officials, most for the first time ever. I show that students find the exercise interesting and empowering and that it increases their civic comfort and self-reported likelihood of contacting a representative in the future.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Public Officials, Self Efficacy, Civics, Student Attitudes, Learning Activities, Telecommunications, Public Policy, Sociology, Citizen Participation, Empowerment, Critical Theory, Active Learning, Undergraduate Students, Course Descriptions
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A