Correspondence audits document causal evidence of racial/ethnic discrimination in many contexts. However, few studies have examined whether local political party voting context influences individuals to engage in "stakeholder-centric" discrimination on behalf of or in response to expectations of others. We examine heterogeneity in…

As democracies have deteriorated worldwide, understanding preservice teachers' perceptions regarding teaching about the 2020 US presidential election helps teacher educators better guide them to make informed and intentional pedagogical decisions for democratic education. Through a survey study, we found that early childhood and elementary…

Mock elections are an increasingly popular form of active learning, adopted in many European countries and the United States. However, we have limited knowledge regarding the extent to which they enhance students' civic competence. This article analyzes data from over 9,000 students aged 13-19 who participated in a 2022 mock election in Sweden.…

This instrumental case study of Generation Z preservice teachers enrolled in elementary teaching methods courses in social studies and literacy explores the impact of polarization on their political engagement and teaching. Using the 2020 presidential election as a teachable moment, participants developed and taught literacy-infused civics units…

In this qualitative study, the authors investigated seventh- and eighth-grade students' participation in an elective civics course focused on the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The researcher and classroom teacher collaborated to embed literacy strategies into his curriculum in this design-based research study. The intervention cycle was…

This article shares lessons from committed and inspirational educators from across the country with whom the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) worked in 2020. Their experiences reinforce that nonpartisan teaching about democracy is possible (i.e., not teaching who to vote for, but rather how the system…

In democracy education, determining how best to teach young children about democracy and how to measure the effectiveness of such learning is difficult, as "democracy" is a subjective and intangible concept. Given the challenge that this presents to educational planners, the author has created a cartoon video about democracy accompanied…

We study a California policy that loosened constraints on some local governments by lowering the share of votes required to pass school capital improvement bond referendums. We show that the policy change yielded larger tax proposals that received less support from voters, yet led to a doubling of approved spending. We show that this effect is…

In order to have a public education system that caters to the cultural, policy, and pedagogical preferences of communities, more citizens need to participate in local school board elections. This report discusses why school board elections should be moved on cycle (i.e., held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of an even…

Background/Context: Despite its emphasis on pluralism, empirical research on asset-based pedagogies has typically focused on culturally, linguistically, or racially homogeneous groups of students. The rise of interest in culturally relevant pedagogy in the 1990s coincided with the resegregation of many school districts. As a result, few scholars…

Civics education shouldn't be confined to dusty textbooks, as evidenced by this assortment of projects. In one unit, elementary students play out the presidential election--from campaigning to inauguration day--using the Storypath approach. In another project, 5th graders explore the controversy about Confederate monuments by studying a local…

2020 was a challenging time to navigate mental health and wellness. With a global pandemic, an emotionally charged U.S. presidential election, and a spike in racially motivated violence, students maneuvered trauma associated with these events in unprecedented ways. The cumulative challenges of this year motivated museum educators at the Cleveland…

This instrumental case study examines how elementary teacher candidates (TCs) came to understand citizenship and civic engagement after participating in a news group project during the 2020 presidential election season. TCs formed a binary understanding of civic engagement as "passive" vs. "active," viewing themselves as active…

This study examines the impacts of two distinct types of school spending on student outcomes. State-imposed revenue limits cap the total amount of revenue that a school district in Wisconsin can raise unless the district holds a referendum asking voters to exceed the cap. Importantly, Wisconsin law requires districts to hold separate referenda for…

In response to media reports of increased teasing and bullying in schools following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we investigated its prevalence with a Virginia school climate survey completed by approximately 155,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Survey results were mapped onto presidential election results…