Teaching Civic Engagement in 2020 and Beyond

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

A thriving and peaceful democracy requires an informed and engaged citizenry, and such citizenship must be learned. The current political climate has accelerated attention to teaching civic engagement, and the 2020 election and its aftermath will only heighten the importance of fostering democratic citizenship in the classroom and campus-wide. Informed by the scholarship and best practices contained in the APSA publications Teaching Civic Engagement: From Student to Active Citizen and Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines, roundtable participants will share evidence-based methods by which political scientists can play an active and leading role on their campuses in engaging students in the 2020 election and its aftermath. Specifically, roundtable participants will offer insights on engaging students in the final weeks of the campaign (in such ways as hosting debate watches or preparing voter guides), effective approaches for mobilizing students on Election Day, moderating discussions about the election in classrooms of all disciplines, and holding reflections on the election returns and their ramifications. Recommendations offered will be rooted in research and attentive to the meaningful inclusion of the diversity of student bodies (diversity in orientation, ethnicity, ideology, etc.). Educators across the country, even around the globe, are faced with teaching politics in an era in which populist values are on the rise and core democratic tenets are being questioned and undermined. As campuses prepare for the 2020 election and beyond, it’s more important than ever that the discipline fulfill its mission to prepare our students to be informed and engaged democratic citizens. This roundtable discussion will play a valuable role in preparing teacher-scholars to do just that.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsor

• Division 10: Political Science Education

Chair

• Elizabeth C. Matto Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Presenters

• Alison Rios Millett McCartney Towson University

• Elizabeth A. Bennion Indiana University South Bend

• Dick Simpson University of Illinois, Chicago