A Renewed Civic Mission of Schools

• In Event: Reinvigorating the Civic Purpose of Schooling: Reframing Outcomes and Expanding Democratic Education Across K–12 Learning

Abstract

Objectives and Frameworks
Preparing young people for the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of civic reasoning and discourse that they need to become agentic citizens will require significant changes in the public school system. Drawing insights from a recent special issue, the American Academy of Political & Social Science ANNALS (2023), this presentation will provide an overview of the policy strategies that need to be in place for public schools to adopt a renewed civic mission of schools organized around civic and democratic outcomes. The policy recommendations in this presentation draw insights from SoLD, Educating for American Democracy (2021), and Educating for Civic Reasoning and Discourse (Authors et al., 2021). In particular, to educate today’s diverse learners and to prepare them to become the next generation of responsible citizens, the recommendations address policy changes with attention to curricula design, pedagogy, assessments of learning, resource allocation, and teacher preparation.

Modes of Inquiry
The presentation will provide a synthesis of evidence pointing to a wide range of issues in our current public school system that diminishes the delivery of a quality democratic education. This includes the lack of curriculum and pedagogy that draw authentic connection to students’ culture, identity, and race, school policies that exclude students from deeper learning opportunities, and an under-prepared and under-supported teacher workforce (Authors, 2023).

Scholarly Significance
This presentation offers a menu of policy strategies to enhance the focus on democratic education in public schools, especially against the backdrop of the current fights over what can be taught in schools. While reinvigorating the civic mission of schooling will be a long-term endeavor, these recommendations illustrate options across multiple policy domains for schools, curriculum developers, policymakers, and educators to begin working toward the transformation of schooling to better prepare the next generation of responsible citizens. This presentation also draws from the author’s deep level of experience gained through a variety of state and federal policymaking, academic, philanthropic, and think-tank roles.

Author

• Kent McGuire, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation