This article presents an in-class exercise that teaches students how to call elected officials about a course-related issue of their choice. The goals are to connect classroom learning with real-life action, to show that contacting elected officials need not be difficult or intimidating, and to help students develop a sense of efficacy that can…

One of the goals for requiring all college students to take science courses is to develop critical thinking about scientific issues they will encounter as citizens, consumers, and patients. This article integrates skill development activities targeting civic scientific literacy skills in a nonscience majors (liberal arts) biochemistry course, but…

State attempts to rationalize Moroccan craft education reflect the ambivalent status of traditional knowledge in a modern economy. Female artisans, recently organized as a cooperative, navigate this ambivalence in a weaving "theory" class and in their "occupation" of the cooperative structure itself. During performances of…

For more than 30 years, student journalists' freedom of expression has been in flux. Freedom of expression is central to journalism education. Without this freedom, teaching students the courage and truth telling central to the profession becomes impossible. To reinstate compromised freedoms, North Dakota student journalists created The John Wall…

This article provides an overview of a classroom project, titled the Priorities Project, which is designed to promote responsible and informed civic engagement on the part of students in upper level political science courses at Drake University. It provides an overview of the Priorities Project, a brief summary highlighting the process and results…

This conceptual paper is based on interdisciplinary work the authors have participated in as part of the renewed push for civic engagement, the various forms it takes, and the multiple constituencies involved in its promotion. We focus on what theoretical and empirical content could be incorporated into courses on aging so that students can be…

Courses: Communication and civic participation course; rhetorical theory, political communication, leadership. Objective: Students will explore citizenship through role models and story-telling. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper describes the results of a participative planning class held in economically dis-advantaged communities in east Tennessee. The class follows a structured method, which includes community workshops and project development, in dealing with the communities. Among many observations gained in eight years of running the class are that…

This paper describes an undergraduate political science course at Indiana State University (Terre Haute) entitled "Contemporary Political Problems." Current politics, economics, and social problems are emphasized. The underlying objective is to encourage students to participate in a knowledgeable and meaningful manner in the political…

Describes a course which teaches about the world conservation strategy and its application in a local context. Includes goals, participants, instructors, format, evaluation, and future direction of this course cosponsored by Tufts University (Massachusetts) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. (DC)

The seven citizenship competencies identified in the New York social studies program are acquiring and using information, assessing involvement, making decisions, making judgments, communicating, cooperating, and promoting interests. An elementary school that views the environment as a citizenship laboratory and gives students opportunities to…

Describes a Rutgers University (New Jersey) course to prepare undergraduates to participate effectively in civic life and public decisions about education and schooling. The course, which includes a service learning component, examines the theoretical and conceptual bases of civic responsibility, reviews the educational policymaking process, and…

A class project that involved three sixth-grade classes in holding a mock presidential election is described. Students manned registration booths, held rallies, made speeches to explain the issues, and actually voted. (RM)

This is an account of a programmer utilizing the application of action learning to the development of capacities of citizens. The Citizen Leadership for Democratic Governance is designed to equip citizens with the skills to get involved and handle the difficult tasks of governance in their communities in South Africa. After a history of apartheid…

The maximization of productivity and labor efficiency has been a hallmark of the American agriculture and food system. The result of these twin processes is an industrial, concentrated, and consolidated provisioning system that produces cheap and plentiful food. Many view this model as a panacea for providing food to a modern industrial workforce,…