This paper examines how two social studies teachers in New York and Arizona engage newcomer youth in active citizenship education. Using a framework of culturally responsive active citizenship education, this article sheds light on how two teachers, in two different social, political, and educational contexts, enact critical citizenship practices…

The purpose of the study was to explore how social studies teachers conceptualized democracy, developed ideas about democratic citizenship, and implemented their perspectives and experiences into teaching. The study used phenomenological approach of qualitative research design. Six participants were selected using a convenient sampling method with…

This report offers a framework that acknowledges that not all service-learning shares the same rationales or goals for student development, or engages students in the same way in communities. Key differences are explicated in approaches to service-learning pedagogy that focus on (a) skill-set practice and reflexivity, (b) civic values and critical…

Students learned in civics lessons in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) that their socialist society uniquely guaranteed all individuals the right to work, and that, as good socialists, they had the duty to take on socially meaningful work. Using the example of a video recording of an East German civics lesson and its…

This study explores the lived experience of democratic civic education for middle school students. Grounded in the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology as guided by Heidegger (1962), Gadamer (1960/2003), Casey (1993), and Levinas (1961/2004), among others, the framework for conducting action-sensitive research, as described by van Manen (2003),…

For almost three quarters of a century, advocates have worked to give comparable federal stature to September 17, the day on which we celebrate the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution by the nation's founders. As President John F. Kennedy noted in his 1961 Constitution Day proclamation, it is a day for…

By coincidence or not, Massachusetts, Illinois and Virginia created civic education task forces not long after national test results showed a dismal understanding of the subject matter across all grade levels. Results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed just 25 percent of all testtakers in grades 4, 8 and 12 demonstrated…

While many Americans might agree on the importance of preparing young people for citizenship in a democracy, civic education has been in decline. Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show students across all grade levels have a less-than-adequate grasp of the skills and knowledge necessary to engage as citizens. In…

In the French school system, citizenship is treated in a civics course titled "Education in civics, laws and society". However, it would be restrictive to narrow this topic to civics lessons, as the question resurfaces implicitly in other subjects. For instance, emphasis was placed in recent years on teaching about religions within…

Values education in Asian societies is commonly underpinned by an ideology of communitarianism that seeks to promote the needs and interests of "others" over the "self." An example of an Asian country that promotes communitarian values through its values education curriculum is Singapore. By reviewing the moral and citizenship…

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…

Previous scholarship has outlined possible models of civics education but have neglected to provide frameworks for evaluation of the way such educative programs contribute to ongoing active citizenship amongst the participants. This paper explicates a framework that can be used to analyse how effectively programs are developing active citizenship…

Project-based learning is an example of powerful social studies learning in which student engage in active inquiry. Action civics is a relatively new educational practice in which students "act as citizens" through a cycle of research, action, and reflection about problems they care about in their community. "Building Civic…

Norwood Elementary, a Title I science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) school in Baltimore County, MD, recently realized that traditional behavior management programs and processes were not working with their students. Over time, school administrators discovered more successful approaches, and restorative practices became the way to…

Middle school is a crucial transition period for adolescents; in addition to beginning to grapple with the academic literacy demands of college and career readiness, they are working to find their place in public life and developing opinions about civic issues. This article presents debate as a literacy practice that is uniquely suited to helping…