Fostering Civic Engagement in the Elementary Grades in an Era of Accountability

• In Event: 66.062 - Democratic Citizenship in Education SIG Paper Session #2

Abstract

This paper discusses how civic engagement can address issues of injustice. We examine ways in which young people can learn to take civic action to improve identified issues of concern in a classroom, school, or community. We share key findings from our upcoming book on how an active model of citizenry can begin in students’ first experiences of schooling based on five years of extensive data collection at Dewey Elementary School in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. We highlight ways in which younger students are also capable of participating in democratic activities in their classrooms, their schools and their communities and how these activities lead to academic, social, and civic learning.

Authors

• Dana L. Mitra, The Pennsylvania State University

• Stephanie C. Serriere, The Pennsylvania State University