This study examined the long-term effects of democratic education on alumni of Liberty School, an alternative learning community in rural Maine active during the 1990s and 2000s. It investigated how participation in a democratic school environment influenced students' civic engagement, personal agency, and development in adulthood, drawing on…

According to the latest reports by international evaluation organizations, new forms of political dynamics in democracies are emerging globally that, paradoxically, endanger the very development of democracy: the rise of populism and social and political polarization, new forms of democratic authoritarianism, and, consequently, the risk of…

Although the area of parental involvement in education is well researched, much less is known about how parents and teachers might work together to cultivate desirable character virtues in their children/pupils. This article considers three potential barriers to parents/teachers forming such partnerships: i) differing views on the importance of…

Background: Despite widespread interest in the leadership and establishment of professional learning communities (PLCs), the ethical dimension may be overlooked. This article examines, in a Norwegian context, how principals have to deal with different sorts of ethical dilemmas in leading professional learning communities. Purpose: The study aimed…

This article investigates the phenomenology of "Social Education Coordinators" in Israeli high schools regarding school's civic education. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted, followed by a two-stage coding process. The Social Education Coordinators indicate that their schools seem to be unified behind the goal of…

Some people claim that religious schools are poorly suited to prepare children for citizenship in a multi-religious society that is (or aspires to be) a liberal democracy. In what sense(s), by what mechanism(s), and to what extent might this be so? And what could be the implications for public policy? I propose an analytical and evaluative…

Video games are the most recent technological advancement to be viewed as an educational panacea and a force for democracy. However, this medium has particular affordances and constraints as a tool for democratic education in educational environments. This paper presents results from a study of the design and content of four iCivics games and…

These activities help high school students develop an understanding of nuclear weapons within the context of human beings making choices. Students learn to evaluate information and to identify the political stand or bias in what they hear and read. To record their own growth and change, students are encouraged to keep a journal. Teachers can…

Social education of high school students should consist of a joint practice of negotiation by school adults and students in the handling of real school conflicts. (KM)

The goal of civic education, as discussed in this paper, is responsible political activism. Although the word activism tends to conjure a negative image of a revolutionary student body for some, the term is used here to express active participation in the decision making process, respect for others' opinions, and upholding one's beliefs. In this…

The focus of citizen education has traditionally been on the institution of government. Instead, citizenship education should emphasize the teaching of democratic behavior and values and the practice of prosociality. Prosocial behavior is defined as actions that are intended to aid another person without the actor's anticipation of external…

This teacher's guide is part of a media package that also includes 5 video dramas, a 2 CD-ROM set, and a set of 30 student resource portfolios. The teacher's guide contains a semester of learning activities; the five video dramas use real-life situations to illustrate and teach civic events; the student resource portfolios have more than 40…

Suggests an approach to citizenship education which enhances the student's ability to make responsible decisions. Emphasizes that citizenship concepts such as fairness begin to develop early in a child's life and that citizenship education is inevitably bound up with value judgments. Gives an example of an activity which fosters responsible…

This report describes a program for building and reinforcing character development in order to increase appropriate student-to-student and student-to-teacher behaviors. The targeted population consists of primary and intermediate elementary students in a growing middle class community in Elk Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The problems of…

The survey reported in this volume is one of four separate projects for an integrated study of civic education financed by the Danforth Foundation. Visits were made to 83 schools in 27 States selected from a list of 300 nominations. The selected junior and senior high schools were reputed to have promising practices in citizenship education. They…