Civics education continues to gain national importance, especially in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and with recent debates about the teaching of history that addresses the legacy of racism and discrimination in the United States. Despite the increasing interest in strengthening civics education, states continue to differ in…

There is increasing urgency to broaden access to inclusive and culturally sustaining K-12 civic education. Civic education can foster young people's development of their civic identity, which can support a functioning American democracy. Civic education often includes opportunities for learners to develop civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions,…

Research shows that not only does higher education not see the public; when the public, in turn, looks at higher education, it sees mostly malaise, inefficiencies, expense, and unfulfilled promises. Yet, the contributors to this issue of the "Higher Education Exchange" tell of bright spots in higher education where experiments in working…

Arts education does more than transfer the skills and knowledge needed to create artistic works. It also helps to shape young people's orientations towards participation in the cultural life of their communities. In this article, Paul Kuttner argues for reframing arts education as a process of developing cultural citizenship. Cultural citizenship,…

With the presidential election just one month away, and contention between Democrats and Republicans at near stratospheric levels, now is the opportune time to engage community college students in the democratic process. While encouraging students to vote is important, effective civic engagement goes well beyond the ballot box; it requires a…

Purpose: This article focuses on the role of school and district leadership in the development and implementation of reform aimed at increasing racial and religious tolerance. It chronicles the rise of intercultural and democratic citizenship curriculum in three North American sites--Springfield, Massachusetts, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and San…

When taught in an engaging manner, civic education can help stimulate and motivate students to excel in other academic areas, while simultaneously preparing them to be active citizens in the democracy. As an initial attempt to more systematically analyze civic education practice, this article presents four case studies of projects in one action…

For the last five years, the Higgins School of Humanities has worked to develop a culture of dialogue at Clark University through its Difficult Dialogues Initiative. People know that genuine communication, creative collaboration, and effective problem solving are necessary to address the challenges they face as a nation and world; a renewed…

Following Tocqueville, many scholars consider associations "schools of democracy" because members can develop civic capacities within them. This article identifies the distribution of civic development opportunities across civic sectors (e.g., politics, service, recreation), focusing on understudied apolitical groups. New data is…

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University is a university-wide initiative to prepare students in all fields of study for lifetimes of active citizenship. The driving concern for this is the view that the very survival of our democracy depends on increasing citizen participation in democratic processes, and…

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--and moved into a new building designed to facilitate them. Clustering is designed to achieve a sense of community within a large school by creating small communities of 100 to 150 students. To create…