Civic Education and Deeper Learning: Preparing Youth for Adult Citizenship

• In Event: Deeper Learning: How Internships, Civics, and Digital Teaching Platforms Can Prepare Youth for Adult Life

Abstract

The original rationale for public education in America was civic. Horace Mann, the most influential early proponent of public schools, believed that establishing free universal schooling would create citizens capable of fulfilling their responsibilities as voters and jurors. In recent decades, however, policymakers have all but ignored that concern, choosing instead to focus on basic reading and math, testing and accountability, and preparing individuals to compete in the job market. And in the meantime, young people’s participation in civic life has languished (judging by their voting patterns, membership in community organizations, and other measures).

This paper and presentation will argue that the turn to deeper learning should go hand in hand with a renewed emphasis on the teaching of civics. Not only does deeper learning have great potential to promote civic outcomes and strengthen our democracy but, at the same time, civic education exemplifies deeper learning. When designed and implemented effectively, it provides students with exactly the sorts of challenging, collaborative, and highly engaging experiences that advocates of deeper learning celebrate.

Research has shown that civic learning is easily integrated within and across core content areas. For example, students can discuss the theme of injustice in a literary work in English, explore debates about the environment in biology, or perform a statistical analysis of public health issues in math. When students engage in service learning, community projects, or simulations in which they apply classroom knowledge to real-world settings, they must think critically, strategically, and collaboratively; confront unexpected circumstances and complex problems; communicate effectively with people who have different values, perspectives, and backgrounds; and reflect deeply on their own learning.

Unfortunately, studies have shown that civics curricula have become more academic and less focused on contemporary problems. High school social studies courses, for example, increasingly emphasize the study of systems and historical events rather than preparation for citizenship. Some students are lucky enough to participate in high-quality service learning programs, collaborative research projects, student-produced newspapers, classroom debates, mock trials, model legislatures, and the like. But such opportunities are rare, unevenly distributed, and most likely to be offered to college-bound students from affluent, majority White communities. Evidence shows that low-income students and students of color have fewer experiential civic learning opportunities and actually performed at a lower level on the 2010 NAEP Civics Assessment. And two recent developments pose particular challenges to the implementation of robust civics curricula: the polarization of politics and the fact that much of civic life is moving online.

Despite these trends, the time for a re-commitment to civics seems to be upon us as the most recent wave of high-stakes school reforms appears to have passed its crest. Today, many Americans are calling upon their schools to spend less time preparing students for standardized tests and more time ensuring that they study a broad range of subjects—and that they study them deeply. This paper will identify what must be done to ensure high-quality civic education and the deeper learning associated with the resolution of civic issues.

Author

• Peter Levine, Tufts University