Engaging Youth for Positive Change is a local civic engagement program focused on youth and young adults in the U.S. state of Illinois, and guides them through the process of adopting a local ordinance by working with their local city councils or other governing bodies. Researchers collected two waves of data from EYPC participants to…

The aim of this confirmatory grounded theory case analysis was to investigate the perceptions of high school civics teachers on the new Illinois civics curriculum and how this relates to concepts of citizenship. This qualitative study involved focus groups consisting of 20 public high school civics teachers to investigate the use of the…

Following thirty-nine states, Illinois became the 40th state to make Civic Education a mandatory class for students to graduate high school in 2015. The mandated class is a semester long and usually occurs in the students Junior or Senior year of high school. The Illinois General Assembly then passed a separate bill that indicated that the 2016-17…

Graham Taylor was a leader in the movement for schools of civics and philanthropy. As founder of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy, Taylor served as President and Professor. The study focuses on the development of the study of philanthropy through following the pedagogy of Graham Taylor beginning with his early efforts during the late…

The author proposes that "societal renewal" and the engagement required to accomplish that renewal should be the core of the university. By focusing on the basic building blocks of good citizenship (civic knowledge and civic action) the university can weave, at relatively low cost, programs and classes into its core. Using Northwestern…

Teachers in the trenches have led the charge to bring civics back in Illinois. Teachers played a leading role in the creation of a state civic education task force, were active participants on it, and ultimately worked with their students to advocate for action on its recommendations. Teachers are at the center of efforts in Illinois to implement…

In 2011, Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana of the Right Question Institute first wrote about the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a simple yet rigorous stepwise process to teach all students how to ask better questions, in their book "Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions". Through the QFT, students learn how…

Since the 1970s, public engagement has declined, generating great concern for some about the future of our nation's democracy. Some consider this decline a national crisis. Two states, Illinois and Florida, have made significant efforts--without legislation--to create a network of academic institutions committed to providing students with…

The civic education policy framework and gap analysis tool are intended to guide state leaders as they address the complexities of preparing students for college, career and civic life. They allow for adaptation to state- and site-specific circumstances and may be adopted in whole or in piecemeal fashion, according to states' individual…

In this content analysis of state U.S. History and Civics standards, we compared the treatment of immigration across three types of states with differing immigration demographics. Analyzing standards from 18 states from a critical race methodology perspective, our findings indicated three sets of tensions: a unified American story versus local…

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with…

While many Americans might agree on the importance of preparing young people for democratic life, civic education receives relatively less attention than other school subjects. Student performance on civic assessments reflects the limited focus of schools on civic learning. While many individuals and organizations have sought to address the poor…

The mission and vision of adult education is to provide every individual in Illinois access to Adult Education and Literacy services. In Illinois, more than 1.15 million adults have less than 12 grades of formal education, approximately 2.8 million Illinois residents speak a language other than English in their home, and more than 350,944…

In 2015, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) celebrated 20 years of hard-charging higher education reform. Once a lone voice in the wilderness, ACTA is now leading the charge in their vigorous campaign to restore academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability to American higher education. Core curricula, accreditation…

By coincidence or not, Massachusetts, Illinois and Virginia created civic education task forces not long after national test results showed a dismal understanding of the subject matter across all grade levels. Results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed just 25 percent of all testtakers in grades 4, 8 and 12 demonstrated…