“Dodging Bullets on a Dying Planet”: Creating an Emancipatory Civics Curriculum for Gen Z (Poster 38)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 1:15 pm
  In Poster Session: Educational Empowerment: Civic Curriculum and Classroom Instruction Through Action Research

Abstract

“Generation Z” is the cohort born between 1995 and 2015 and as their oldest members become adults, it is clear that they share political alignments, policy goals and habits of activism that distinguish them from previous generations. This generation is characterized by a hard shift leftwards in their politics, notable after the election of Trump in 2016 and they are not content with just participating in our democracy; they desire engagement. If Generation Z is truly different, then as teachers, how should we change our curriculum and pedagogy to best serve their unique needs? As civics teachers, if Gen Z is desirous of activism and working towards meaningful change, how then should we reimagine civic literacy for this new generation?

Author

• John Hensley, North Carolina State University