The dynamic of how civic education is framed during turbulent periods is illuminated through analysis of three Hong Kong official civic education curriculum guidelines (1985, 1996, 2012). Guidelines are publicly available, officially sanctioned statements of purpose that have particular relevance for education professionals and are used around the…

The digital revolution has enabled important changes in political life. Opportunities to engage in "participatory politics" have expanded significantly. Participatory politics differ from institutional politics in that they are peer-based, interactive, and not guided by deference to traditional elites and institutions. These changes…

This article addresses how teachers conceptualize and attempt to develop citizens within the context of market-based reforms. Findings are based on a qualitative case study of Teach For America teachers at a Knowledge is Power Program charter school in New Orleans. Using Westheimer and Kahne's taxonomy of citizenship, I provide evidence that…

Amid the recent proliferation of teacher-led movements resisting high-stakes testing across the United States, the authors identify how a "failing" elementary school reclaimed local discourse by taking political action against top-down measures. Framed as competing modes of school reform, the authors offer the sociocultural framework of…

Examines the divide between high school students' perceptions of historical inquiry and those articulated in current proposals for curricular and instructional reform. Concludes that successful reform requires instruction that shifts the locus of authority from the teacher and text to a shared process of critical inquiry. (CFR)

Maintains that during World War II the nature of elementary social studies changed significantly. Concludes that, as a result of enhanced and broadened activity during the war years, elementary social studies emerged as an important curricular field. (CFR)