The American democracy is experiencing strain from the erosion of democratic norms and its political, judicial, social, and economic institutions. In short, the American democracy shows signs of democratic deconsolidation. Community colleges are higher education institutions that help consolidate the U.S. democracy by representing democratic…

This chapter examines how the work of community colleges relates to the democratic work that citizens must do and makes the case for better alignment between the two.

This chapter looks at civic learning and democratic engagement from the perspective of political philosophy to suggest the essential cognitive, affective, and political skills needed for careers of fulfilling public work and for civic action.

This chapter describes the ways in which civic learning and democratic engagement are incorporated into community colleges' missions and strategic plans, professional development, curricula, and extracurricular programming.

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…

This chapter describes the cocurricular activities offered through The Democracy Commitment at Allegany College of Maryland and the impact of these civic experiences on its students.

This chapter describes a diversity and democracy curriculum and faculty development collaboration among the Association of American Colleges and Universities, The Democracy Commitment, and 10 community colleges.