It is hypothesized in the fields of political education and citizenship studies that a discrepancy exists between the rhetoric of political education as expressed in official policy documents, guidelines, and curricula, on the one hand, and the reality of what happens in the classroom, on the other. This study tests this hypothesis in relation to…

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…

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…

How can international politics courses be used to generate global civic engagement? The article describes how experiential learning can be used to stimulate student interest in issues of contemporary, global significance and to build students' repertoire of globally and locally relevant civic skills. It describes how students can become…

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…

Globalization, global citizenship, and political engagement have become such buzzwords and cliches that we often lose the sense of their meaning. Global citizenship in particular is an elusive concept to operationalize. This article proposes to look at three dimensions of global citizenship: legal (rights and obligations), psychological…

This article presents evidence designed to expand scholarly knowledge of how high school co-curricular activities generate the positive effects previous scholarship has found. Studies of empowerment across various fields identify a sense of autonomy, self-belief, self-expression, the ability to work together with diverse others, and a critical…

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…

Cultivating an inclusive definition of citizenship is increasingly important to the maintenance of America's multicultural democracy. Yet, current college-level civic education and diversity interventions are incapable of fully addressing this problem. Hence, this comprehensive review of the literature on diversity and higher education suggests…

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…

Perceiving political engagement to be dangerously low among American citizens, many political science professors in recent years have attempted to promote engagement and "healthier" political attitudes. The effectiveness of these efforts appears variable and generally quite modest. Following the model of Canadian citizens' assemblies, we taught a…

This study examines the pedagogical conditions that contribute to political learning in American National Government courses, using data from classes taught at universities and colleges in Utah. The purpose of this research is to assess the relative effect of course content, classroom climate, textbook, institutional ranking and class size on…

This study examines the effect of a 10-week campaign internship course on political efficacy and trust. We compared changes in these key political attitudes between a group of 33 undergraduate students in a campaign internship course and a control group of 65 students taking government courses. A multiple regression analysis indicates that…

This article examines the growing body of literature on service learning as a pedagogical tool within political science. It also reports the results of a service learning experiment used in a course on State and Local Politics. Students completed service learning projects that combined community service, attendance at local political meetings…