Professional Development Deliberations Using Empirical Evidence and Ethical Reasoning to Improve Civic Education Teachers’ Practice

• In Event: Critical Approaches to Civic Education: International Perspectives

Abstract

Background: In the United States and most democratic nations, a number of out of school factors influence the civic and political participation of young people. Yet, it is also true that high quality civic education can have a positive effect on whether young people know how to participate in political life, and whether they are disposed to do so. And while there are many successful approaches to civic education, none are effective without a skilful teacher. Skilled civic education teachers know their students and community context well, have strong and flexible content knowledge, hold and can articulate clear aims about what they are trying to accomplish, and have well-honed pedagogical skills. Additionally, civic education teachers often confront and must make decisions about a number of controversial pedagogical issues, such as: whether teachers should share their own political views with students when engaging them in deliberations about highly controversial political issues; how to determine whether a question should be approached as an open issue, or a settled matter; and which of the various aims of civic education are most appropriate for the students they teach.

Purpose: This paper presents and critiques a professional development process developed by the authors that focuses on helping teachers make reasoned judgements about these controversial pedagogical issues and to improve the quality of their teaching. The process begins by sharing empirical evidence about what students experience and learn in high school social studies lessons. It then provides teachers with tools that enable them to analyze their own students in their context.

Study Design, Methods, Data Sources: Data collection began in the spring of 2005 and was completed in the spring of 2009. The sample includes 1,001 students in 35 classes in 21 schools in three states (Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin).

Findings and Significance: The deliberations to date have been quite successful, and plans are underway to conduct a formal study of them in the next few years. While researchers often hope that practitioners will use the results of their research to inform their practice, it infrequently occurs. This research-to-practice professional development process may be a useful model for bridging the research to practice gap.

Authors

• Diana E. Hess, Spencer Foundation

• Paula McAvoy, Spencer Foundation