Amid hyper-partisanship, increasing critiques of civic education reform priorities from conservatives, and growing signs of democratic backsliding, can schools provide foundational support for democratic norms, commitments, and capacities? Drawing on a unique national survey of high school principals conducted in 2018, we examine how political…

Social studies education and research can and must play a central role in sustaining democratic societies. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of this vital journal that aims to strengthen social studies education, democratic societies face numerous serious challenges. Although today's circumstances are unique, many of our current challenges…

Context: School-based student protests have received little scholarly attention, yet they have the potential to impact the school community, students' civic development, and larger social movements. Principals are key actors in responding to school-based student protests. As school leaders, principals' actions affect the outcome of student…

Teachers need new instructional strategies and systemwide support to educate students about the threats that racism, hyper-partisanship, and disinformation pose to democracy. Nicole Mirra, Sarah McGrew, Joseph Kahne, Antero Godina Garcia, and Brendesha Tynes explore the three major elements of digital citizenship education -- safety and civility,…

The authors feel there is a need of a new and different kind of classroom conversation about free speech--one that not only considers the legal and aspirational dimensions but also weighs the practice and impact of speech in daily life. Two factors make this new conversation particularly urgent. First, the avalanche of social media communication,…

A healthy democracy requires informed citizens on all sides of the political spectrum but extreme political polarization creates significant challenges. This study examines how teachers conceptualize civic education in an ideologically and racially diverse school district. Embedded within a research-practice partnership, this case offers timely…

This article investigates youth judgments of the accuracy of truth claims tied to controversial public issues. In an experiment embedded within a nationally representative survey of youth ages 15 to 27 (N = 2,101), youth were asked to judge the accuracy of one of several simulated online posts. Consistent with research on motivated reasoning,…

In a study of high school civic opportunities, the authors found that student race and academic track, and a school's average socioeconomic status (SES) determines the availability of the school-based civic learning opportunities that promote voting and broader forms of civic engagement. High school students attending higher SES schools, those who…

The notion of democracy occupies a privileged place in our society. Educators and policymakers are increasingly pursuing a variety of programs to promote democracy through civic education, service learning, and other pedagogies. The nature of their underlying beliefs, however, differs. This article underscores the political implications of…

In this article, the authors take a systematic look at high school seniors' views on patriotism and its relationship to democracy. Drawing on the work of the Harwood Institute and on studies by Robert Schatz, Ervin Staub, and Howard Lavine, they discuss a set of criteria that can help them determine the degree to which students' patriotic…

Introduces special section on democracy and civic engagement containing a series of articles arguing for the importance to a democratic society of continuing to emphasize the teaching of civics in schools. (Contains 12 references.)(PKP)

Educators and policymakers are increasingly pursuing a broad variety of programs that aim to promote democracy through civic education, service learning, and other pedagogies. Their underlying beliefs, however, differ. For some, a commitment to democracy is associated with liberal notions of freedom, while for others democracy is primarily about…

Educators and policymakers increasingly pursue programs that aim to strengthen democracy through civic education, service learning, and other pedagogies. Their underlying beliefs, however, differ. This article calls attention to the spectrum of ideas about what good citizenship is and what good citizens do that are embodied in democratic education…

Describes common curricular components of 10 education programs to teach students democratic citizenship. Highlights characteristics of three programs: a high school government course, a college-level program, and an adult education program. Describes three broad priorities of successful programs: commitment, capacity, and connection. Includes a…

C. Wright Mills Middle School uses a project-based curriculum and service learning to prepare students for participatory democracy. Two challenges are to develop academic skills through experiential education and to avoid indoctrination. (SK)