Civic Futures in Text: Civic Reasoning and Discourse in African Elementary Education

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Abstract

This study examines how elementary social studies and civic education textbooks in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa frame civic reasoning and discourse (CR and D) for young learners. Using a two-phase human–Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) hybrid analysis of 52 government-approved textbooks. Findings indicate there are three dominant lenses to CR and D in African textbooks, namely: moral–patriotic (emphasizing obedience, national identity), legal–participatory (emphasizing democratic structures, civic duties), and rights-based transformative (justice, inquiry, historical reflection). Textbooks reflect these stances to present content to shape young learners’ thinking about civic identity, memory, and agency in African contexts. The findings highlight educational media, especially textbooks, as political texts influencing democratic socialization and imagining civic futures for students.

Author

• Matthew Odebiyi, Arizona State University