Reframing Civic Education In A Post-COVID World: A Systematic Review of Scholarship (2020–2025)

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Three
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT051 (Friday)

Abstract

This systematic review explores how civic education scholarship (2020–2025) has evolved in response to the disruptions and inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examines how recent research redefines civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions to meet the challenges of misinformation, polarization, and digital civic life. Guided by the C3 Framework, Westheimer and Kahne’s citizenship typology, and the Educating for Civic Reasoning and Discourse report, the review analyzes whether the field is shifting from traditional, duty-based models toward empathy- and equity-centered approaches. Preliminary findings highlight a growing emphasis on empathy, critical reasoning, and social responsibility as essential civic competencies, reflecting a movement toward justice-oriented civic education that integrates cognitive, emotional, and ethical dimensions of democratic life.

Authors

• Isaac B. Bolaji, Kent State University

• Toyosi Stephen Adedara, Baylor University

• Oluwabunmi Blessing Alao, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Busola Omolade-Adedara, University of Ibadan