The research mode that has gained prominence under the designation "transdisciplinary research" (TDR) has given rise to a multitude of definitions and critiques. While some posit that this research mode enables the sciences to address the mounting societal expectations to confront and potentially resolve significant societal challenges,…

This teaching note presents an assignment in which students write an op-ed on a course-related issue and submit it to a newspaper. I argue that an op-ed assignment dovetails with pedagogical goals around democratic citizenship and public sociology. I explain the project's objectives, instructions, and timeline. I present evidence from three…

Interest in improving civic education is growing, but there's no clear definition of what civic education should be. To understand what kinds of skills civics education should promote in students, Jack Schneider, Eric Soto-Shed, and Karalyn McGovern surveyed 100 experts and 500 ordinary citizens, asking them to name the tasks that skilled citizens…

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…

This study focused on the design of interdisciplinary STEAM educational strategies supported by the Internet of Things. The second cycle of a Design-Based Research approach was implemented, refined prior citizen science strategies designed, implemented, and analysed in a co-creation process, in the first cycle. The iterative…

A comprehensive social studies education provides the foundation for an appreciation of democracy, an understanding of the responsibilities and rights that come with participating in a republican form of government, and the knowledge and skills to be informed, responsible, and active global citizens. As students participate in their social studies…

This study sought to examine how Latina/o college graduates engage civically. Through a four-step quantitative design, we found that Latina/o college graduates vote, volunteer, advocate, donate money, serve as cultural and political resources, and run for elected office. We also identified five typologies, or classes, of civically engaged Latina/o…

Citizen science (CS) has been presented as a novel form of research relevant for social concerns and global challenges. CS transforms the roles of participants to being actively involved at various stages of research processes, CS projects are dynamic, and pluralism arises when many non-professional researchers take an active involvement in…

Youth-focused researchers and practitioners need conceptual models to consider paths for youth citizenship and social justice which are attenuated to the context, social support, visibility, and structure of engagement opportunities. This article will expand upon the initial conceptual model created by Brennan et al. in this special issue by…

This article examines the literacy practices among youth of color in social media spaces dedicated to activism and civic engagement. Drawing on a 3-month multicase qualitative online study, the author analyzed interviews, social media artifacts, and case narratives to uncover how teens leverage social media for social justice advocacy, with…

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes embedded in daily life--from employment and education to healthcare and public services--AI literacy is emerging as both a civic competency and a human right. Yet second language learners, particularly from immigrant and marginalized communities, are often excluded from systems not designed for linguistic…

To address the need for social studies methods course instructors to help preservice teachers make learning and teaching citizenship education relevant, a qualitative case study that took on a content and thematic data analysis approach involving supplementing the curriculum with an oral history inquiry-based project was conducted on 38 elementary…

For over a century, schools have been hoping that instilling knowledge of the US civic system--how a bill becomes a law, the three branches of government, the history of constitutional amendments--would lead young people to embrace the concept of democracy and commit to engaging in it. Yet today, young people's trust in democratic institutions has…

Background: Behavioural public policies, known as nudges, suffer from lack of citizen consent and involvement, which has led to an argument for more reflective nudges, known as 'nudge plus'. Aims and objectives: How can more citizen reflection be introduced in a way that is not itself top-down and paternalist in spite of good intentions? How might…

Critique of citizenship education has suggested citizenship should be reconceived, not as a status, but as something that people continuously do: citizenship as practice. This article draws on a two-year ethnographic study of citizenship practices in a Scottish primary school examining how citizenship curriculum was distributed across children's…