Youth voter turnout remains stubbornly low and unresponsive to civic education. Rigorous evaluations of the effects of adopting civics tests for high school graduation by some states on youth voter turnout remain limited. We estimate the impact of a recent, state-mandated civics test policy--the Civics Education Initiative (CEI)--on youth voter…

Youth voter turnout remains stubbornly low and unresponsive to civic education. Rigorous evaluations of the adoption of civic tests for high school graduation by some states on youth voter turnout remain limited. We estimate the impact of a recent, state-mandated civics test policy--the Civics Education Initiative (CEI)--on youth voter turnout by…

Student-centered, project-based, guided experiential civics education approaches, like action civics, may have benefits for general academic outcomes. Action civics programs provide applied settings for learning civics: students work together in groups to take action on a local issue. To the best of our knowledge, we conducted the first…

This research examines the factors that shape high school students' experiences with an action civics program--"Project Soapbox"--that fosters democratic and social-emotional learning. Drawing on pre- and postsurveys with 204 students, classroom observations, teacher interviews, student work samples, and student focus group interviews,…

It is imperative that schools and communities give students opportunities to participate in active citizenship and prepare them with the important skills and dispositions needed to become informed citizens. Action civics is a promising practice that puts students at the heart of civics learning by providing them with the opportunity to learn about…

Immigrant adolescents are one of the fastest growing segments of our population, yet we know little about how schools prepare them for citizenship. Although prior research suggests that high school civics education, academic achievement, and a sense of connection increase political participation in early adulthood, we do not know if these…

This article describes Project 540, a national civic education program that directly engages high school students in the democratic process. During Project 540's first year (2002-2003) more than 140,000 students in 230 high schools in the United States participated in Project 540 to identify issues they cared about and take part in civic…

School-based civic education is increasingly recognized as an effective means for increasing political awareness and participation in American youth. This study examines the Student Voices curriculum, implemented in 22 Philadelphia high schools, to assess program activities that mediate gains in outcomes linked to future political participation…

This article features Project 540, a national civic education program directly engaging high-schoolers in the democratic process. Project 540 is a dynamic and moving initiative that brings students full-circle to produce civic action plans based on what their school and community have to offer. The author emphasizes that civic participation based…

This study examined reports and programs from across the state, the nation and from international sources to gather a broad selection of published and unpublished environmental education research. A variety of sources were used, such as the internet, interviews with key informants and experts in the field of environmental and sustainability…

This document describes a Polish program that enables students and teachers to experience state government on a personal level. Fifty students and ten teachers were invited to Warsaw (Poland) for five days to participate in didactic games, simulations, and meetings with social activists, politicians, civil servants, and journalists. The project's…

This report describes how an innovative curriculum promoted the civic development of high school students along with parents by stimulating news media attention and discussion in families. Evidence is based on a three-year evaluation of Kids Voting USA, an interactive, election-based curriculum. Political communication in the home increased the…

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--and moved into a new building designed to facilitate them. Clustering is designed to achieve a sense of community within a large school by creating small communities of 100 to 150 students. To create…

The influence of Kids Voting USA, an interactive civics curriculum taught during election campaigns, is assessed in the context of three field experiments that took place during the fall of 2002. The research sites are Maricopa County, Arizona; El Paso County, Colorado; and Broward/Palm Beach counties, Florida. The authors present findings from…

Service-learning is a wide-spread educational strategy in K-16 education. Currently 64% of all public schools and 83% of public high schools have community service. Researchers have proclaimed the many benefits of service learning in terms of student empowerment, but does it have the power to create a counter-hegemony that provides an alternative…