There is a debate in Political Science concerning how best to teach American Government courses. We investigate whether students learn more effectively with texts from the great tradition or from textbooks and other secondary sources. Which medium better guides students toward becoming better citizens? We examine how teaching "The Great…

This article examines the impact of problem-solving and creativity exercises on student interest in public policy making and behavior related to civic engagement. Researchers have long described policy making as a function of problem solving. Creativity has also been identified as an important component of the process. While these skills are…

Student exit polling has demonstrated value in the classroom (Berry and Robinson 2012; Evans and Lagergren 2007; Lelieveldt and Rossen 2009), but faculty typically operate these polls in isolation. When faculty collaborate, however, students gain additional benefits from the experience. Collaboration provides a geographically diverse "student…

This article argues for a political science discipline and teaching framework predicated empirically on the study of "real-world problems" and normatively on promoting civic engagement among political science students. I argue for a rethinking of political science and political science education in view of the pragmatist thought of John…

We propose that the European Union (EU) should be used in citizenship education as a possible vehicle for citizens' influence on issues outside the reach of the nation-state. Citizenship education thus ought to include the EU as an arena for political action and relevant "EU knowledge" ought to be part of the curriculum. Concepts…

In this article, I argue that student learning is enhanced when civic engagement is a component of international education initiatives. When only presented with knowledge about global challenges, students can become frustrated and overwhelmed unless they also understand how they might contribute to solutions. Political science programs are…

In a democracy, agents of political socialization, such as schools and parents, generally emphasize the importance of voting. While college students may be exposed briefly to voter registration as a barrier to participation, there is little evidence that the topic is given serious attention in the classroom. This research addresses how classroom…

The Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) of California State University, Chico, provides a unique civic engagement program designed to serve the legal service needs of Northern California. Founded in 1969, CLIC is now a 12-program, on-campus law clinic staffed by up to 125 undergraduate students each semester and is the most extensive…

Why are Americans, and young Americans in particular, so turned off to government and politics? And, what can be done to arrest these trends? In this article, I suggest that three primary, and mutually reinforcing, trends, which can be summed up as the "relevance factor," the "negativity factor," and the "triumphant market factor," have conspired…

We examine the political and personal effects of disaster volunteerism with participants of the New Orleans Rebirth Movement (NORM) using four waves of pre- and postsurveys and qualitative analysis of participant journals. Significant increases are found in internal political efficacy, desire to be active in politics, and value placed on social…

This article presents the findings of a study concerning the use of deliberation as a tool for classroom instruction. Utilizing deliberative polling as the basis for this project, we wanted to determine whether this form of discourse will have an impact on student knowledge, opinions about a policy issue, and levels of engagement. The use of pre-…

To make a difference in their communities, students need to develop the "knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference" (Ehrlich 2000, p. vi). Taking advantage of Iowa's role in the 2008 presidential nominations, I designed three "civic learning" projects: a collaborative fact-checking weblog, a nonpartisan voter guide on…

We study one aspect of the relationship between theory and politics, in order to begin to address this issue of political science education--specifically focusing on whether participation in the election process as voting monitors, combined with political science education, can help students better understand politics as democratic engagement. In…

This article investigates the use of service-learning in teaching active democratic citizenship in the postgraduate classroom. In particular it draws on a case study of an MBS Government module (GV6104) entitled "Political Participation and Mobilisation" that explores the relationship between democracy and participation. Students of this module…

This article aims to explore practitioner-focused degrees in politics. It begins by defining the term and outlining the key features in comparison to other politics degrees. The underlying pedagogical principles that inform the design of teaching, learning, and assessment are then explored, before the article moves on to discuss the development of…