What Kind of Civic Disposition? A Systematic Review of "Dispositions" in the Civic Education Literature

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Civic Dispositions, Political Emotions, and Meanings of Citizenship (Table 2)

Abstract

To revitalize civic education, scholars and practitioners call for programming to address knowledge, skill, and dispositional development. But what are civic dispositions? This systematic review surveys the landscape of dispositions in the 21st century civic education literature published in the United States. Preliminary findings from 41 articles reveal inconsistencies in how researchers have defined and theorized dispositions for use in K-12 civic education classrooms and highlight potential implications for student civic development. This study is a call to action to establish conceptual clarity, as the ways in which dispositions are conceptualized and operationalized in K-12 civics curricula can have significant bearings on how students make sense of their roles and responsibilities in a democracy.

Authors

• Ariana Zetlin, University of Pennsylvania

• Abigail Dym, Providence College

• Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, University of Pennsylvania