For many high school students, the benefits of civic education seem irrelevant and take place in their future lives. Student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Civics is stagnant. In 2018, the average civics score for eighth-grade students was not significantly different from 2014 and had only increased by 3…

The C3 Framework prompts middle school and high school students to assess the ways people have worked to promote the common good. The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework. It also summons students to take informed action. One way that Wendy Harris, a high school social studies teacher at a Deaf school in Saint Paul, MN, advance this goal…

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.…

The use of social media saturates the everyday lives of young people, offering complex, rich challenges and opportunities for cultivating their skills with and disposition toward online participatory politics in "a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world" (National Council for the Social Studies). While attempts…

In the 1930s, suffragist and women's rights activist Maud Wood Park "had the happy idea of dramatizing a series of episodes from Lucy Stone's life." This idea resulted in the publication, in 1938, of a 162-page nine-act play, "Lucy Stone: A Chronicle Play," based on a biography of the abolitionist and suffragist by her…

The amplification of women's voices and enfranchisement of their rights is a global issue that has gained momentum in the last century alongside the expansion of democracy. Women have seen their political presence increase in recent history, whether it be through suffrage and voting rights, parity of representation in governmental bodies, or…

This article shares lessons from committed and inspirational educators from across the country with whom the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) worked in 2020. Their experiences reinforce that nonpartisan teaching about democracy is possible (i.e., not teaching who to vote for, but rather how the system…

This article, which was completed in January 2020, expands the author's presidential address, which was delivered at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, on November 22, 2019. In her address, Heafner discusses the new ecology of social studies and focuses on concerns over the civic health of our…

Although many adults perceive young "digital natives" as savvy about our new media landscape, youth are regularly fooled by inaccurate stories and online scams. Furthermore, beyond the threat of outright false information, young people encounter confusing half-truths, misleading arguments, and disguised efforts to collect their personal…

Change comes when individuals transform themselves first and then move outward into the world. The C3 Framework lays out a vision for civic action within Dimension 4 of the Inquiry Arc in a section titled "Taking Informed Action." The Framework emphasizes that "It is important to note that taking informed action … should be grounded…

Civic skills need to be practiced to keep the democracy strong, and civic training materials should be exciting and linked to real-world activities. Today, teaching government and social studies can be, must be, about students' real lives. A unit of study on "Tracking Congress" would offer an opportunity to connect civics and government…

Young people must systematically learn to become voters, and this is especially the case for those who grow up with little to no access to structured civic opportunities like extracurricular activities and community organizing. With those principles in mind, and based on 2018 research and experience with practitioners and partners, the authors…

Formal civic education that seeks to develop young people's appreciation and competence for active participation in their communities is critically important, and we should continue to advocate for its inclusion. Learning to live together--in community with diverse others--has always required far more than formal civic education curriculum has…

These days it is hard not to notice that there is an election going on. Whether glancing at a newspaper, flipping on the TV, or just walking down the street, we see ads and information nearly everywhere. In 2012, my research team's study involving hundreds of adolescents found that the mass media's increased attention to politics can contribute to…

Jeremy Thomas and Russell McBride are social studies teachers in North Carolina and, until recently, were colleagues at a charter school outside of Raleigh, serving students in grades 6-12. After learning about the Inquiry Design Model (IDM), both teachers implemented it into their classrooms and immediately saw how the blueprint helped deepen…