Integrating service learning with undergraduate research, the student biodiesel project converted all waste vegetable oil (WVO) from campus dining centers into a sustainable biofuel used by campus vehicles, allowing half of the campus diesel energy needs to be met by a material (WVO) that was formerly a waste. Biodiesel reduced air pollution from…

The widening cracks in the foundations of American democracy are leading to appeals for higher educational institutions generally, and public affairs programs specifically, to offer more courses on civil discourse. In this paper, we conduct a curriculum scan to evaluate the extent to which public affairs programs have answered these calls at the…

The authors highlight two first-grade teachers who teach in New York City. Using a read-aloud, they explore differences between equity and equality and then engage children in a real-world scenario that engages concepts of fairness when allocating resources to disparate groups of people.

Purpose: Civic education is a central mission of public schools, and deeper learning of civics--learning that is complex and adaptive--is the goal. However, assessment of deeper civic learning is limited. Therefore, we aimed to develop an assessment model and test of deeper learning in the common high school civics course taught across the U.S.…

The concept of "thriving" in educational policy refers to a loosely defined mix of academic, socioemotional, and civic outcomes associated with youth well-being. In this chapter, we analyze three focus areas in K-12 education--social emotional learning, 21st-century skills, and digital citizenship--and conclude that they are currently…

Through civic education and social interactions at school, students are able to develop more or less political knowledge and trust in political institutions. Both precede intended electoral participation. However, it is disputed whether the relationship between political knowledge, trust, and intended participation is consistent across countries.…

Civic, social and political education (CSPE) is a mandatory citizenship education subject taken during the junior cycle in the Irish post-primary curriculum. This article looks at the historical development of the subject from its first incarnation as civics to its recreation as CSPE and then to its recent move into the Wellbeing Programme. The…

Historians of social studies and race have focused overwhelmingly on formal educational settings, textbooks, and curriculum, thereby overlooking the informal educational spaces valued by African Americans. This study examines civic education in informal settings by considering the educational programs of Black voluntary organizations. Hundreds of…

Recent research suggests that many environmental education (EE) programs for youth in the United States focus on meeting educational standards rather than using civic engagement and advocacy techniques to promote environmental literacy. We distributed a survey to members of several EE organizations to identify which civic engagement, advocacy, and…

Reduced formal civic education, a decrease in intergenerational closure, and a drop in participation in political institutions and civic organizations, voluntary associations, and community-focused entities in recent decades mean it is likely that young people are not getting adequate civic training and are therefore less able to contribute to the…

Mandated under Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, the decennial census determines the distribution of power and resources based upon population counts. College students are a hard-to-count population with limited knowledge about why the census matters and how to complete it. Politics and the global health pandemic made the…

Undocumented youth experience heightened moments of exclusion in certain places and at particular times. Civics classrooms can be such places, especially during times of hypernational focus such as national elections. This article begins by describing one undocumented student's experience in his U.S. Civics class. It goes on to detail a study…

This article attempts to contribute to the growing scholarly conversation at the nexus of immigration, citizenship, and civics education. This paper seeks to shed light on what is taught about undocumented immigrants by starting with civics class, where concepts such as the rights of citizens and immigrants are traditionally taught. Specifically,…

Does school participatory budgeting (SPB) increase students' political efficacy? SPB, which is implemented in thousands of schools around the world, is a democratic process of deliberation and decision-making in which students determine how to spend a portion of the school's budget. We examined the impact of SPB on political efficacy in one middle…

This study aims to test and prove the effect of the think-pair-share learning model on student learning outcomes in Civics in elementary schools. The research design used is a pre-experimental design with the One Group Pre-test-Post-test type. This research was conducted in one group that was randomly selected. The treatment intended is the…