Session Summary

"Democracy Needs Democrats": What Can Schools and Teachers Do to Provide Good Civic Education?

Mon, April 12, 9:30 to 11:00am EDT (9:30 to 11:00am EDT), SIG Sessions, SIG-Democratic Citizenship in Education Paper and Symposium Sessions

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Across the United States, teachers are tasked to provide students with the “content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy” (National Council for the Social Studies, 2005, p. 1). Therefore, schools and teachers bear a major responsibility for educating children and adolescents to become democratically engaged citizens that ensure the survival of democracy. This symposium discusses how this responsibility can be best assumed by (1) illustrating best school/teaching practices from different countries and educational settings, and (2) comparing and debating the impact of different agents of political socialization during adolescents’ acquisition of civic literacy.

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