Preparing students to be engaged, productive citizens is one of the foundational purposes of public education in the United States. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Horace Mann--to name a few--all espoused free, universal public education as the key element that was necessary to maintain the integrity of the American republic over time. Public…

Civic engagement has been on the decline for 50 years, and even with the recent increase in voting in the primary presidential elections, youth participation in society remains low. Those students who do not complete high school have virtually no involvement in civic, political and community affairs. Such realities suggest a marked failure--within…

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of West Virginia public elementary school teachers' self-efficacy for teaching character education. Questions addressed teachers' overall level of perceived self-efficacy for teaching character education; the levels of perceived self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and…

Participating in a democracy is learned behavior. It takes years to develop the ability to understand the complexity of issues, to negotiate the challenges of political change and to act effectively on behalf of the common good. One doesn't simply acquire this knowledge and learn these skills through a senior elective civics course in high school.…

Noting that citizenship education is one of the major responsibilities of the public schools, this resource guide defines good citizenship as having 13 components, among them: respecting one's self and one's parents and home; possessing the skills necessary to live peaceably in society and not resorting to violence to settle disputes; respecting…

Despite a growing consensus that civic education is an important aspect of political socialization, little research has prospectively examined how gains made during civics courses are maintained after high school. This study used a quasi-experimental design to examine longer-term effects of the Student Voices program, which was originally…

The connection between service and character is a natural fit in today's schools. An important fact of school reform in recent years has been the push to connect academics to the "real world." But while there is widespread agreement that educating students to become good citizens is crucial, there are differences on how to make that goal…

Civics and social-studies educators worry that schools are neglecting to show the complex and difficult sides of democracy, including the importance of debate and dissent. Strategies to help young people grow into citizens include encouraging critical thinking, teaching students to understand other points of view, and linking service learning to…

This think piece examines the role of community in educational reform. The paper maintains that while many scholars, business people, and politicians have advocated the creation of a community covenant--a mutually beneficial relationship between schools and their communities--such programs have never really taken hold. The paper advocates that as…

This book provides a comprehensive guide to help educators in K-12 service learning programs. Each of the book's four parts provides a different scope and purpose. Part 1, "Community Service-Learning," addresses the components of quality service learning programs and includes the chapters (all written by Rahima C. Wade) : (1) "Community…

This article reports on the differences in democratic education across school types, using the US National Household Education Survey (NHES) of 1999. We replicate the estimation approach of Campbell (1998) and find a strongly positive effect from attendance at Catholic school or private independent schools on community service participation, civic…

Civic education is essential to sustaining constitutional democracy. Each new generation presents a new group of people who must acquire the knowledge, learn the skills, and develop the disposition or traits of private and public character that undergird a constitutional democracy. Citizenship training means teaching students to think critically,…

Explains the potential role and benefits of service learning in transforming schools. Argues that service learning has the potential to reinvigorate traditional classrooms and turn passive students into dynamic and engaged learners, but its implementation carries no guarantee of "product satisfaction." Further, its success lies in the…

For more than 200 years, American democracy has served as a model for the world. Central to the founders' vision was that government requires the consent of the governed that the people must be active and responsible participants in their own governance. A primary mission of American public schools has been the civic education of young people.…

Service-learning is a wide-spread educational strategy in K-16 education. Currently 64% of all public schools and 83% of public high schools have community service. Researchers have proclaimed the many benefits of service learning in terms of student empowerment, but does it have the power to create a counter-hegemony that provides an alternative…