Over the past decade, Illinois has emerged as a national exemplar of how state policy can drive systemic change in civics education. The Illinois Civic Mission Coalition, a pan-ideological alliance of educators, policymakers, and civic organizations, has shaped the state's civics education vision. The coalition built a scalable infrastructure of…

The aim of this confirmatory grounded theory case analysis was to investigate the perceptions of high school civics teachers on the new Illinois civics curriculum and how this relates to concepts of citizenship. This qualitative study involved focus groups consisting of 20 public high school civics teachers to investigate the use of the…

Curriculum strategies on social justice in education often focus on classroom management and technology integration, which may be surface-level approaches. Emerging trends include project-based learning and community partnerships for students to address real-world problems; as such, selected courses employ service-learning as a method of…

Open innovation (OI) has become an essential business model for big tech companies and innovation ecosystems. However, most STEM high schools in the United States do not have appropriate OI programs for students. This paper explores how various perspectives on open innovation as an emerging trend in the entrepreneurial ecosystem can link with STEM…

The potential benefits associated with sociopolitical group involvement for participating youth have been well documented in the existing literature. Yet, little is known about what motivates voluntary participation in such programs among youth. The purpose of this study is to explore what environmental factors influence youth civic engagement…

This study, conducted in a Business/Technology course in a large public high school in Southeastern USA, Fall Semester, 2014, supports the use of Service-Learning in the schools for empowering students to serve the public good. Ninety-two students created classroom "DREAM TEAMS" for researching and seeking solutions for selected…

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…

The aim of this action-research project was to evaluate the impact of high school students' involvement in community-oriented, art-based work in the social studies. In Detroit, high school students engaged in persuasive writing and design while exploring community issues. The project culminated in the installation of student artwork on a billboard…

Controversial issues have been established within the larger framework of civic education as an effective pedagogical approach to developing critical thinking in the classroom, preparing students with intellectual habits necessary for participation in scholarship, civic life and democracy. In this study, we found that a pedagogical intervention,…

Research suggests that teachers play a role in the type of citizenship education implemented in schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how two high school teachers understood and enacted their civic identities as a dimension of their teacher identities. Findings suggest that factors contributing to an individual's civic…

The context of privilege provides unique opportunities and challenges for youth civic development. A mixed-method approach was used to examine links between school-based community service, school climate, and civic orientation among students in cultures of privilege. Surveys completed by students (N = 376) at two private high schools--one with an…

Graduates of the John Stanford Public Service and Political Science Academy at Franklin High School in Seattle, Washington, leave school with self-confidence and a fiery sense of civic duty, giving back to their communities in crucial ways. Students tackle civic and ethical issues daily in the classroom, and the service-learning projects they…

The influences of high school community service participation, extracurricular involvement, and civic knowledge on voting and volunteering in early adulthood were examined using the National Educational Longitudinal Study. The major finding in this study is that both voluntary and school-required community service in high school were strong…

Because the national education agenda is focused on standards, testing, and accountability, schools are at risk of narrowly defining their mission as improving test scores. In this environment, it is easy to forget that public education serves a larger civic mission. Preserving and promoting a democratic society was the founding precept of the…

Citizenship education is an important part of the development of young people. By enabling them to learn about their rights and responsibilities, to understand how society works, and develop knowledge and understanding of social and political issues, citizenship prepares them for dealing with the challenges they face in life. Through citizenship…