In this report, the authors present findings from their analysis of social studies state standards. The following questions guided their work: (1) To what extent do middle and high school (grades 8-12) history and civics state standards support teaching about political parties? For the states that do include language about political parties, what…

Teaching students to use news and information media ("information literacy") is an important aspect of civic education, especially now that news sources are rapidly changing and fragmenting along ideological lines. Information literacy is required in several state standards, and it is also frequently defined as an important "21st…

In May and June of 2013, CIRCLE surveyed a national sample of high school civics and U.S. government teachers. Complete survey responses from 720 teachers provided a wealth of information on more than 1,000 civics and government courses that they taught. The teachers responded to questions about key activities and topics; attitudes towards civic…

In a recent report entitled "All Together Now: Collaboration and Innovation for Youth Engagement,": the Commission on Youth Voting & Civic Knowledge concluded that civic education is a shared responsibility of schools and other institutions. Data suggests, however, that more work is required to provide all young people with the…

Preparing the next generation of Americans to engage in their communities civically and politically is a shared responsibility. Although civic education takes place every day in homes and community centers, our nation's K-12 schools are in a unique position to nurture and reinforce the civic development of all young people. States influence their…

Each new generation must become active, informed, responsible, and effective citizens. As a teacher who was surveyed for this report said, "civic education is essential if we are to continue as a free democratic society. Not to educate the next generation will ensure the destruction of our American way of life as we know it." Data show…

This fact sheet summarizes state requirements related to civic education, which means learning about citizenship, government, law, current events, and related topics. Civic education is most directly addressed in courses labeled "civics," "government," or "U.S. government." Social studies is a broader category that…

This study tells the story of the transformation of a substantial group of young people. Today they are exemplary civic leaders. A significant number of them hold public office or are church leaders, such as pastors. More than one third are professional educators or youth workers. Almost all are leaders in their families, workplaces, and…

This Fact Sheet reports findings from an ongoing study of the representation of 9/11 and terrorism in curricula, textbooks, and state standards documents. The study was conducted in three stages. The first two stages focused on how supplemental curricula and best-selling social studies textbooks published between 2002-2010 present the events of…

CIRCLE Working Paper #72 addresses whether efforts to systematically incorporate media into school curricula increases several elements of civic engagement, including students' media use, political knowledge or their sense of being able to understand and influence politics (internal political efficacy). In "The Classroom-Kitchen Table…

Adolescent voluntary associations are particularly well positioned in the life course to encourage voting as youth become full citizens. Extracurriculars socialize students into voting by habituating them to civic engagement and by connecting them to politically engaged cultures. We establish this argument by testing the effects of high school…

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts, launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--that provide an opportunity to study the influence of schoolwide democratic deliberation on students' civic knowledge and participation. The intervention involved, in part, organizing the school into…

Citizens can improve their communities, the government, and the nation through active civic engagement and collaboration. To do so requires skills. Educational programs and other government-supported initiatives have been shown to enhance Americans' civic skills and their levels of engagement. But these programs and other opportunities are scarce…

Since 2006, the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), in partnership with the Civic Indicators Working Group, has published annual reports called "America's Civic Health Index." These reports have informed Americans about leading indicators of the nation's civic health and motivated citizens, leaders and policymakers to strengthen…

The landmark Civic Mission of Schools report of 2003 laid out an argument for the role of schools in promoting youth civic engagement and presented a range of promising ideas and practices to accomplish that. In this study we describe the civic engagement outcomes that Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in Louisville, KY, has chosen to promote…