There is increasing evidence that what we call civic education embraces only a part of the influences operating on a people, and may well be among the less important. There are a number of practical obstacles to the success of civic education in political socialization. The multifunctionality that allows schools to have so many favorable effects,…

The goal of civic education, as discussed in this paper, is responsible political activism. Although the word activism tends to conjure a negative image of a revolutionary student body for some, the term is used here to express active participation in the decision making process, respect for others' opinions, and upholding one's beliefs. In this…

This paper presents six generalizations based on political education research and discusses their implications for teaching citizenship in the public schools. In drawing the implications, it was assumed that citizenship education is designed to promote higher political knowledge, interest, trust, tolerance of dissent, and intellectual and…

Effects of participation by 904 elementary and secondary school social studies students in a political education project are discussed. Objectives of the project, entitled Improving Citizenship Education (ICE), are to assess student political knowledge (factual information, generalizations, principles, thinking and participatory skills), before…

The conference provided a forum where educators, members of public service organizations, and legislators could explore the need for and commitment to citizen education, set citizen education objectives, and generate ideas for creating a citizen education effort. Conference participants explored two major aspects of citizenship…

The paper reviews literature dealing with children's social and political development and examines how changing orientations in child development research relate to citizenship education. The paper is intended for use by elementary school educators as they develop and implement citizenship education and law-related education programs. The paper is…

The problems, practices, objectives, and desirability of political education in the secondary school social studies curriculum is evaluated. The author suggests that political education should be a compulsory subject in junior and senior high schools. The document is presented in eight chapters. Chapter I explores the relationship between…

National Assessment, a systematic survey of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, provides educators and the public with information on student achievement. The data-gathering model for the Assessment has yielded differences of various groups' performances in the area of political knowledge. These results seem to imply that the academic approach to…

Part of a project to assist educators, parents, and community leaders as they develop and implement citizenship education programs, the document identifies and describes citizenship competencies. The document is presented in five chapters. Chapter I introduces the handbook and considers factors influencing citizenship education including social…

Research is reviewed that concerns citizenship education for primary grade children, and strategies are discussed that deal with political socialization in early childhood years. The most current methods for teaching citizenship emphasize complacency and compliance to school rules, not the understanding of democratic processes and citizen…

The document presents a report of a national conference on education and citizenship which focused upon how to help students become responsible and effective citizens of a more responsive society. The document is presented in five chapters. Chapter I presents a historical review of civic education from colonial days to the present. Chapter II…

The conference provided a forum where educators, members of public service organizations, members of the citizen education component of Research for Better Schools (RBS), representatives from industry and community groups, and representatives of the New Jersey Citizen Education Planning Committee could explore citizenship education in light of the…

The purpose of this companion to SO 001 250 is to provide teachers with specific information for improving instruction concerned with individual freedom and responsibility. The need for improvement has been established by studies indicating little or no change in the political orientation of high school students from the formal civics curriculum,…

This document contains papers and proceedings from a colloquium in May, 1978, on citizen education objectives. The first paper, by Judith V. Torney, stresses the need to relate global concepts to citizenship and to objectives for citizen education. Torney also suggests that a citizenship education program should consider average ages at which…