Critics suggest that youth lack basic civic knowledge and are disengaging from civic action, particularly political action. The validity of these criticisms depends on how civic knowledge and civic engagement are defined. The results of four studies of civic education, conducted by the IEA over a period of almost 50 years, are examined in terms of…

This paper articulates a normative philosophical justification for Peace Education as a civic duty understood from within the imperatives of democratic political legitimacy. A normative philosophical rationale is present that outlines how and in what ways valid public justification is the source of political legitimacy in a democracy, which in…

The author discusses what it means to be a "good" citizen in a democracy, whether schools are teaching children to be good citizens, and ways to implement citizenship education in schools.

The article adds to a growing conversation that recognizes and supports young children's civic capabilities, positioning them as citizens-now and not simply citizens in the future. They detail how three different classrooms sought to work with children to engage in social action on behalf of their broader community. This response wonders alongside…

As scholarship has become increasingly narrow and disconnected from public life, Kettering research has documented an intense sense of malaise in higher education, what Harry Boyte has called a loss of civic agency. Surprisingly, however, faculty at a few campuses have begun to self-organize to integrate civic work into their teaching and…

This article describes a lesson in which students will examine several views expressed by the founders to understand the context for including freedom of the press in the First Amendment. Students will be asked to think about the role that the news media and the need to be an informed citizen continue to play in our democracy. Students will…

In the author's research, he has found that there are two key elements of an effective civic education: (1) duty; and (2) voice. In this article, he elaborates on what he means by these terms, but first he notes that--perhaps ironically--neither speaks to the content of a civics curriculum. He believes that it is possible to reach consensus on…

Developing pre-service teachers civically is the oldest need which is known for social studies. Social studies are the most humanistic science between other sciences. It is due to the goal of social studies to focus more on civic issues and its content. Teacher students can gain skill, knowledge, and trait of being a good citizen through courses…

Background: Prior to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the civic education were characterized by denationalization and depoliticization. After the Joint Declaration, many of the conflicts emerged between the national interests advocated by the nationalistic camp and the Hong Kong interests promoted by the Liberal camp in the newly…

This paper evaluates the extent to which the implementation and assessment of the new citizenship curriculum in England treats learners as citizens or subjects by evaluating whether the interests of state or citizen predominate. Philosophical, contextual, and practical perspectives on citizenship education are drawn upon to evaluate mechanisms…

Presented at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (53d, San Francisco, February 28 - March 5, 1969).

The story of how democratic government came about in this country is a thrilling story indeed. It starts when people arrived on the shores of this new land, and continues down to today. No one person, no one group of persons, thought up the idea and the forms and practices that make democratic government. Many persons have shared; there have been…

Today education is a key factor in developing an open society in Kazakhstan. Currently there are many discussions about how to make changes in the educational system in order to help learners become independent and interdependent, effective, and responsible citizens. The role of universities is to generate diverse opportunities for civic action,…

CIVITAS is a curriculum framework that sets forth a set of national goals to be achieved in a civic education curriculum, primarily for K-12 public and private schools. It is a framework that proposes to specify the knowledge and skills needed by citizens to perform their roles in U.S. democracy. There are two major sections in the framework. It…

Education for citizenship in a constitutional democracy has been a long-standing goal of schools in the United States. To achieve this goal, students must learn their civil rights and responsibilities in a free society. This ERIC Digest discusses: (1) the importance of teaching about the responsibilities of citizenship; (2) deficiencies in…