During the last quarter of the 20th century, a global surge of democracy has transformed international relations and inspired people in places throughout the world. The current and continuing wave of democracy in the governments of nation-states has brought about a correspondingly strong surge of education for democracy. This rising tide of…

In this paper, the questions of whether or not the transmission of common civic values and commitments to society should be a major goal of U.S. schools is considered. The effects of classroom, school, and society on civic values and attitudes are addressed in terms of: (1) the curriculum and classroom instruction; (2) school structures and…

The National Register of Historic Places maintains a database with information on more than 60,000 historic places of significance in U.S. history. This paper contends that the emerging K-12 social studies core curriculum, as exemplified by the National Standards Project, contains a number of openings for teaching about historic places.…

This paper discusses the importance of civic education in the transformation from totalitarian communism to constitutional democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The primary question of civic education for this great transformation is: What are the few core ideas of democratic civic education that learners must know and support to prepare them…

Standards for teaching, learning, and assessing civics or democratic citizenship should emphasize two centrally important concepts: (1) constitutionalism; and (2) human rights. If students in schools and citizens in the polity fail to know, value, and act in terms of these concepts, then their prospects for building and maintaining liberal…

The interactions of individuality and community in a democratic republic have remained the great object of civic inquiries, the perplexing civic problem throughout the more than 200 years of U.S. constitutional history. This paper argues that this inquiry should be at the center of civic education today. Five recommendations for civic educators to…

This paper contends that the issues of constitutional government debated during the founding of the United States should be in the core curriculum of any school that seeks to educate students to become responsible citizens of a constitutional democracy. For purposes of teaching students, the issues debated by founding-era political thinkers can be…

"The Federalist Papers," a collection of 85 essays on the principles of republican government written to support the ratification of the Constitution of 1787, has been praised as an outstanding work by individuals ranging from such founding fathers as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to contemporary scholars in history and…

This document addresses the questions of what teachers have achieved during the U. S. Constitution Bicentennial celebration in the areas of curriculum development and instruction and whether or not the celebration has been accompanied by educational renewal and improvement in secondary schools. Persistent problems in teaching and learning about…

Although the collection of papers known as "The Federalist" (first published in 1788) has offered enduring wisdom to lawyers, judges, politicians, and scholars about principles and issues of constitutional government, this classic work has not occupied a prominent place in high school history and government courses. "The…

To maintain the legacy of freedom from the Age of Enlightenment, educators must effectively teach about the interrelated ideas of modern science and constitutional democracy in both social studies and science courses. The United States most directly and fully exemplifies the civic and scientific ideas which have developed as a result of the Age of…

The core civic ideas that helped form a consensus around a United States Constitution in 1787 are the seeds that produce the civic culture of the United States today. Constitutionalism, republicanism, communitarianism, and classical liberalism were related ideas at the center of U.S. civic culture in the 1780s. Two hundred years later, with some…

Heritage education is an approach to teaching, rather than an academic discipline or subject area. It draws on history, geography, literature, the arts, architecture, and the social and natural sciences to study the evidence of the past remaining in the natural and built environment, the material culture, written documents, and in community…

Leaders of nascent democracies, such as Lithuania, quickly understood that effective civic education is indispensable to the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of their institutions of government and civil society. They readily turned to civic educators in the United States, the world's oldest democracy, for advice about how to prepare…

Historic preservation, as an illuminator of U.S. history and culture, can be used to support and enhance the curriculum of elementary and secondary schools. In line with the mission of schools, historic preservation involves the maintenance of culture--the sites, structures, and objects that constitute the tangible legacy from the past and reflect…