American colleges and universities are failing at civic education. Too many graduates are ignorant of basic facts about American history and institutions. According to its most recent report on what colleges and universities teach students, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) found that only 214 institutions out of 1,135 (about 19…

In Turkey, the Republican Era, which started in 1923, is a period in which state institutions were rapidly restructured and these institutions were reconstituted within the framework of the ideology of the newly established state. Education has taken its share in this reconstruction process as well. One of the important regulations in the field of…

Senior Secondary Students' inability to draw a significant difference between these school subjects, which lead to their ceaseless absence in the class is a critical issue that calls for an investigation. This research examined teachers' and student's assessment of the level of relatedness of Civic education and Government as a school subject in…

New York State has long been a leader in educational reform, including initiating efforts to enhance civic education. For example, in 1985, concerns regarding the civic and economic literacy of the state's youth prompted the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to mandate a fourth credit in social studies education. This fourth credit…

The potential for quality civic education programs to foster civic empowerment and engagement among young citizens is explored through an examination of three programs for primary and secondary school students implemented by the Center for Civic Education--We the People/James Madison Legacy Project, Presidential and Congressional Academies for…

This essay outlines a unique program developed at Davis & Elkins College: the First Year Symposium. Responding to concerns about the lack of civic engagement in America's youth and the call for colleges and universities to develop strategic plans for addressing democratic learning, the First Year Symposium is a required class for all…

John Dewey said that "democracy needs to be reborn in each generation and education is its midwife." While there has been criticism of the Bush administration's post-9/11 agenda, there is little recognition of the role that his education policy played to rebirth democracy for a nation in crisis. This paper analyzes the ways that 9/11 has…

This new report from the Center for Educational Equity offers insights into the resources and practices necessary to prepare students for civic participation in accordance with students' constitutional rights. The pilot study on which the report is based documented major disparities in learning opportunities among the study schools, including in…

Amador Valley High School, in Pleasanton, California, uses two unique approaches to teaching Advanced Placement Government and Politics. AP Government consists of six units: Constitutional Underpinnings; Political Behavior and Political Beliefs; Mass Media, Interest Groups, and Political Parties; Institutions of Government; Civil Liberties and…

The principal aim of this study is to highlight how students in 8th grade of middle school perceive the principal concepts present in Citizenship Education (lessons), namely the values of: citizenship, (personal) rights, responsibility, the state, the law, military service, the right to education, the right to vote and participate in the political…

The 2012 elections are the perfect opportunity to help students make sense of and visualize their role in the democratic society. In this article, the authors examine the benefits of building a class museum centered on the theme: "Government of the People, for the People, and by the People." They provide steps and examples to show how to build a…

This text deals with a problem concerning processes of the productive power of knowledge. We draw on the so-called poststructural theories challenging the classical image of thought--as hinged upon a representational logic identifying entities in a rigid sense--when formulating a problem concerning the gap between knowledge and the object of…

Philadelphia's Constitution High School (CHS) is committed both to the theory of education for democracy, and to its practice, as reflected by a school constitution, student elections, town hall meetings, and active student participation in school government. As its name indicates, CHS is a theme-based high school that focuses on history,…

This article builds on a previous submission to the New Zealand government's Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector. It reviews the very long history of adult and community education (ACE) for active citizenship. It illustrates some ways in which ACE organizations and groups have contributed to attempts by the state and its agencies to…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a survey mandated by the U.S. Congress to collect and report information about student achievement in various academic subjects, such as mathematics, science, reading, writing, history, geography, and civics. The National Assessment Governing Board sets policy and the overall dimensions…