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Pub Date: |
2006-06-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires |
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Descriptors:
Student Surveys; Identification; Elementary School Students; Thinking Skills; Elementary Schools; Democracy; Citizenship; Charter Schools; Citizenship Education; Democratic Values; Age Differences; Developmental Stages; Racial Differences; Test Construction
Abstract:
Over the past decade, public attention on the importance of the civic development and education of youth has grown. To address these concerns, the East Bay Conservation Corps (EBCC) Charter School opened in 1996 with the explicit mission to prepare and engage students grades K through 12 as caring citizens who are capable and motivated to fully participate in our democracy. While content standards and assessments readily exist to articulate the academic and artistic development of students, youth civic development, especially at the elementary level, has been under-conceptualized. What is needed is a more robust, comprehensive developmental framework for citizenship education that begins with younger ages and addresses civic skills and dispositions to the same degree as civic knowledge. The product from this project is a set of tested, reliable measures of civic knowledge, civic thinking skills, civic participation skills and civic dispositions that are referenced to recent efforts to provide frameworks of competencies in civic education. Two sets of instruments were developed using a comprehensive conceptual framework for civic indicators at the elementary level. The measures include a student survey of student civic knowledge, skills and attitudes that relate to dispositions, which is the focus of this report; a set of corresponding grade level observation checklists of student skills and behaviors was also developed. Starting at a young age to foster developmental foundations for civic engagement includes a democratic orientation to others and identification with them as fellow members of a community and body politic. This focus is not only developmentally appropriate but also consistent with the goals of many elementary schools to foster prosocial skills and behaviors. In addition, there is a need for greater attention to age-appropriate, instrument identification and development for elementary aged students to document student civic development by focusing on what they can do, an important and often overlooked facet of K-12 civic education research and practice. Addressing this need will also assist other public elementary schools interested in recapturing their civic mission and in creating a K-12 developmental framework for civic development. Appended are: (1) Student Survey Used in National Pilot; (2) Student Observation Checklists for Grades K/1, 2/3 and 4/5; (3) Pearson Correlations between Scales; (4) Tests of Significance for Findings by Gender; (5) Tests of Significance for Findings by White and Non-White Subpopulations; and (6) Descriptive Statistics of Full National Sample. (Contains 3 figures.) [This Working Paper was produced by CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement). For CIRCLE Working Paper 46, see ED494037.]
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Pub Date: |
1995-12-21 |
Pub Type(s): |
Reports - Evaluative |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Adult Education; Citizenship Education; Cost Effectiveness; Elementary Secondary Education; National Programs; National Surveys; Outcomes of Education; Participant Characteristics; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Public Service; Questionnaires; School Community Relationship; Service Learning; Student Participation; Student Volunteers; Youth Programs
Abstract:
Serve-America is a national program that was established under the 1990 National and Community Service Act to involve young people in community service and thereby build their understanding of their communities, sense of social responsibility, and commitment to community involvement. In 1992, a 3-year evaluation of Serve-America was initiated to determine its effects on participants, benefits, and cost-effectiveness. The evaluation included observations, document reviews, and participant and control group surveys at 13 local Serve-America program sites. The evaluation established that, as of 1993-94, approximately 434,000 school-aged youths and 90,000 nonparticipant volunteers were participating in Serve-America programs. Serve-America was having positive effects on middle school and high school students and had created new service opportunities in 12 of the 13 intensive study sites. The Serve-America sites studied were producing approximately $3 in direct community benefits for every $1 in program costs. (Thirty tables/figures are included. Appendixes constituting approximately 50% of this document contain the following items: overview of the national evaluation; research and policy background of Serve-America; analysis sample and impact estimation method; definitions of scales and other outcome measures; baseline characteristics of participant and comparison group sample members; Subtitle B1 subgroup analysis; and baseline and follow-up surveys.) (MN)
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Pub Date: |
1994-07-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Adolescents; Education Work Relationship; Educational Change; Educational Needs; Educational Quality; Evaluation Criteria; Job Training; Models; Noncollege Bound Students; Position Papers; Program Design; Secondary Education; Standards; Synthesis; Work Experience Programs; Youth Employment; Youth Programs
Abstract:
Research conducted during the Youth Research and Technical Assistance project established that the process of designing effective job training/employment programs for at-risk youth can be framed in terms of the following broad themes: focusing on youth as youth by developing program designs that are appropriate for their age and level of development; connecting work and learning by providing opportunities for youth to develop basic and cognitive skills in a "real world" context; providing opportunities for longer-term sequences of services; and promoting quality in a decentralized system. Among the elements that must be included in a longer-term, comprehensive system of services for youth are the following: flexible entry/exit through a developmental sequence of programs and services; mechanisms to match youth to appropriate services and track their progress over time; community-wide interagency partnerships to provide long-term, comprehensive services; and a variety of program strategies. The following elements are key to promoting quality in a decentralized system: active investment in capacity building and professional development; an assessment system providing accurate information for matching youth to services, assessing gains, and tracking progress through a sequence of services; and a clearly defined, meaningful set of program outcomes that form the basis for an ongoing performance management system. (MN)
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