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…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the perceptions of participants of PeaceJam towards personal and collective power, service learning, social justice and democratic education as examined through participant observations, interviews, focus groups, artifacts, and documents of individuals engaging with the non-profit…

Global learning is among the declared 21st century learning outcomes of higher education deemed essential for meeting the challenges and opportunities of the global world. Since global learning is "a framing theme for college student learning" (Schneider, 2015, para. 3; Kinzie et al., 2017, para. 2), it is important to find ways to make…

Since the beginning of public education in the United States, there has been a strong tradition of viewing schools as the mechanism for preparing young people for their role as citizens in a democratic society. Moreover, citizenship education has held a foundational place in social studies classrooms. However, despite this central focus of social…

Social studies education provides unique opportunities for students to learn about the democratic process and, more importantly, how to engage in civic life to become active citizens. It is through meaningful social studies education that students are deliberately helped to understand the world, and are provided space to discuss, deliberate, and…

The purpose of this dissertation was to scrutinize the complexities involved in the formulation and implementation of relevant policies. The design of each study mirrored key elements in the legislative life cycle specifically as it pertained to civics education policymaking, including problem identification, policy creation, and policy diffusion.…

This study examined social studies teachers' conceptions of human rights education (HRE), with a focus on the connection between HRE and global citizenship education (GCE). These conceptions were studied through a Critical Race Theory framework. This study took place in a small city in North Dakota and utilized a collective case study approach.…

Readers' advisors are tasked with suggesting leisure reading materials to library patrons. The current discourse within the field has it that these advisors ought to adhere to (what I am calling) a "pure preference satisfaction model" wherein they aim to satisfy readers' existing preferences without judging or attempting to alter them.…

The professional experience of K12 teachers in the United States is marked by transformation. The K12 classroom has been a consistent presence in the history of the U.S., with the specifics of the teacher's role regularly transforming over time. With the spread of the internet and the increasing ubiquity of web-enabled digital devices (e.g.,…

Youth today are participating in political and civic life in new and emerging ways--some positive and some negative--but there is scant evidence that these new forms of engagement spawn enduring forms of participation to enhance democratization at all levels in society. How, then, do we educate for democracy and for what type of democracy,…

Public school spaces play a large role in developing people's understandings of civic knowledge and responsibility. Teachers, administrators, and policy-makers design school curriculum to reflect the types of citizens they believe a society needs, and thus, determines approaches to teaching and curriculum development (Labaree, 1997). This action…

The practice of "standardized" testing has been embedded in United States federal education policy since at least the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The roots of standardized testing in American education, grounded in Kantian "Modern Thought," can be traced to the U.S. Military Academy at…

This dissertation explores unexamined assumptions linking the context of small learning communities to the outcome of quality civic education. Civic education scholars and advocates for small learning communities espouse similar visions of education based on democratic ideals; the purpose of this study was to explore whether and in what ways small…

Civic competence is critical to the successful functioning of pluralistic democracies. Developing the knowledge, skills, and motivations for effective democratic participation is a national and global imperative that many higher education institutions have embraced through the teaching strategies of community-based learning and service-learning.…

Looking through the philosophical lens of love, this study seeks a deeper understanding and appreciation of how postsecondary social justice educators use storytelling, in the context of critical peace education, to create social change. This research explores the guiding question of how storytelling is used to encourage social change and to…