Sorting Through Citizenship: Using Inquiry and Concept Development to Unpack Adolescent Civic Identity Formation

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Affect and Identities in Social Studies Education

Abstract

The social studies classroom is an outlet to help students navigate the complexities of civic life, particularly when prioritizing self-directed inquiry (Authors 3 & 4, 2015; 2016; 2018; Kahne & Sporte, 2008). However, too often citizenship is framed through individual acts rather than collective identity (Biesta, Lawy, & Kelly, 2009). Therefore, the authors of this paper designed and studied an activity to help guide teachers and students through various perceptions of citizenship that can confine or expand the civic ideology individuals ascribe to “good” citizenship (Author 2, 2018). The activity utilized Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) citizenship framework to help students understand and grapple with the range of civic experiences that citizens encounter.

Authors

• Tori Smith, University of Alabama

• Kevin Russel Magill, Baylor University

• Brooke Blevins, Baylor University

• Nate Scholten, Baylor University

• Karon Nicol LeCompte, Baylor University