Recent trends in education reform have brought renewed attention to performance character strengths such as grit, growth mindsets, and self-control. In this article, we explore how secondary teachers (Grades 5-12) in a variety of school types understood character education generally, and performance character education specifically. Research…

Despite rhetoric and composition maintaining a role as a producer of democracy, democratic deliberation has not appeared widely as a pedagogical practice, outside of reinforcing traditional modes of argumentative writing. This dissertation articulates the dispositions and practices for a deliberative pedagogy in composition that supports students'…

Young people are very interested in politics right now. In 2018, the voter turnout rate for youth between the ages of 18 and 29 doubled from the previous midterm election: from 13% to 28%. This group has also made up a disproportionate share of those participating in recent demonstrations protesting racism and anti-Black violence nationwide.…

Courses: Public Speaking. Objectives: This unit aims to (1) illustrate the classical and contemporary utility of "ekphrasis" ("description") as a genre of civic communication; and (2) introduce students to essential skills in public speaking, including invention, arrangement, and, in particular, style

The current study examined sociodemographic characteristics and political discussion as correlates of adolescents' qualitative understanding of three civic behaviors. Participants were 743 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 15.87, range = 13-20; 55.6% female; 89.9% White) from a midsized city and a small rural town in an Appalachian state. Open-ended…

Public schools that serve kindergarteners through 12th graders can play a key role in combating Truth Decay by supporting students' civic development and engagement. Teachers' instructional materials provide one window into civic education in schools. Research in mathematics and English language arts (ELA) for students in kindergarten through 12th…

As the media landscape is increasingly populated by less than reputable sources of information, educators have turned to argument evaluation training as a potential solution. Unfortunately, the bias literature suggests that our ability to objectively evaluate an argument is, to a large extent, determined by the relationship between our own beliefs…

Higher education is expected to contribute to graduates becoming active citizens of democratic societies. Still, little is known about how heterogeneities within higher education are connected to political participation. This study centres on differences in the type of institution, kind of degree and field of study and their relationship with…

In this article, Kimi Waite and Jennifer Burgin describe a three-step interdisciplinary framework for learning partnerships between TK-2 students and scientists that covers the NCSS themes SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, SOCIETY and PEOPLE, PLACES, AND ENVIRONMENTS. The authors showcase standards-aligned learning activities and resources to help practicing…

This chapter focuses on effective preparation for civic reasoning, discourse, and problem solving. It reviews literatures, including major synthetic reviews and studies from the science of learning and development (SoLD), civics education, and mathematics education. Based on these reviews, the authors make the case for a more comprehensive form of…

At the intersection of an ongoing global pandemic and equity-focused social movements, critical and digital pedagogies became both necessary and important. Digital ways of teaching made education possible when we could not be in person, and provided alternative modes of learning and thinking, but also exacerbated existing inequalities. In this…

Promoting adhesion to attitudes toward gender equity is critical to achieving more equal societies, yet endorsement of gender equality among Latin American adolescents remains lower than global averages. This study investigates the role of school environments, civic knowledge, and authoritarianism in shaping gender equity attitudes among 8th-grade…

There is increasing urgency to broaden access to inclusive and culturally sustaining K-12 civic education. Civic education can foster young people's development of their civic identity, which can support a functioning American democracy. Civic education often includes opportunities for learners to develop civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions,…

Scholars have long identified fostering democratic citizenship as a primary purpose of public schooling in the United States, as schools should intentionally prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed for active, informed democratic citizenship. In addition, global interconnectedness has reshaped needed civic competencies to participate…

Purpose: The main aim of this article is to analyze Estonian civics and citizenship education. We focus on multi-level policy design and implementation, teachers' roles, and educational practices in the classroom. In order to achieve the aim, we analyzed the national curricula from the citizenship normative perspective, conducted interviews with…