In 2024, fewer than one in four US youth felt like they belonged to a group that expresses itself politically, and 44 percent of young nonvoters were disinterested or disliked the candidates. In a moment where many adults of all ages are dissatisfied with politics, polarization, and American governmental institutions, the state of youth civic…

The Institute for Citizens & Scholars brings together diverse people, across traditional divides, to build a constitutional democracy that works for all. In 2019, Citizens & Scholars released the whitepaper "From Civic Education to a Civic Learning Ecosystem: A Landscape Analysis and Case for Collaboration," which noted a…

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.…

Every four years during the presidential election season, the media focuses on the perceived apathy of young people, and many well-intentioned organizations zero in on mobilizing young voters. This strategy leads to a myopic focus on just registering students to vote without adequate attention given towards the larger task of growing voters and…

Civics education is an important component of what we do in adult ESL classes. Therefore, in the fall of 2016, although most of the adults in my class were not yet citizens, and, therefore, not eligible to vote, I wanted the learners to understand the upcoming election and especially the significance of red and blue states as reflected in the…

Civic engagement starts with our nation's young people, since engagement in adolescence increases the likelihood of engagement in adulthood. As 3 in 4 superintendents agree that preparing students for engaged citizenship is a challenge for their district, it is important to recognize that afterschool and summer learning programs are critical…

This brief explains what civics education skills are and why they are important. It describes what skills students need to function effectively as parents, workers, and citizens of the United States and provides tips for integrating civics education in the adult education classroom.

Social studies educators have encouraged the use of primary sources and inquiry in the classroom for decades; however, inquiry-based instruction in which students engage meaningfully with primary sources remains the exception rather than the norm. The publication of the College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State…

Opportunities for youth participation in city and state elections, such as those occurring in Maryland and Illinois, are becoming a part of the policymaker's toolkit to create engaged citizens and lifelong voters. This report reviews new efforts by state and city leaders to encourage youth voting within their boundaries. Key takeaways in this…

High-quality civic education not only prepares children for the most basic civic participation--voting and understanding how powers are divided--but also helps them acquire broader skills, such as deliberating with fellow citizens to make difficult decisions that affect their communities, advocating for themselves and others on matters of public…

Many readers may recall that this author wrote an open letter to President Obama in 2010 where he took issue with the emphasis on math and science education resulting in the marginalization of social studies and citizenship. In this column, he has selected and written about websites that focus on the election process. The author hopes this will…

The 2012 elections are the perfect opportunity to help students make sense of and visualize their role in the democratic society. In this article, the authors examine the benefits of building a class museum centered on the theme: "Government of the People, for the People, and by the People." They provide steps and examples to show how to build a…

Kids learn by doing, which, experts agree, is the only real way to teach citizenship. This article presents election-year activities that stress action. These activities will show students what it means to be a good citizen. (Contains 6 online resources.)

What role might education play in the reinvigoration of a robust American democracy? We argue that common understandings of democracy, citizenship, and democratic education are too anemic to right the political inequalities and stagnancies that have deadened American democracy. Instead, we look to notions of "paideia" and an educated, enlightened…

A wealth of research suggests the importance of classroom discussion of controversial issues for adequately preparing students for participation in democratic life. Teachers, and the larger public, however, still shy away from such discussion. Much of the current research seeking to remedy this state of affairs focuses exclusively on developing…