ERIC Number: EJ1389331
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1523-6803
EISSN: EISSN-2328-9643
Available Date: N/A
Answering the Call: Offering and Analyzing Civil Discourse Opportunities in Undergraduate Public Affairs Education
Journal of Public Affairs Education, v29 n2 p213-231 2023
The widening cracks in the foundations of American democracy are leading to appeals for higher educational institutions generally, and public affairs programs specifically, to offer more courses on civil discourse. In this paper, we conduct a curriculum scan to evaluate the extent to which public affairs programs have answered these calls at the undergraduate level. The findings indicate that civil discourse-themed courses are essentially absent in the largest undergraduate public affairs programs, leaving the calls woefully unanswered. Then, analyzing students' pre-post survey responses from a new course that offered content on the intersection of civil discourse and public policy making, we find that a civil discourse-themed course can simultaneously answer the calls and ensure that students meet the objectives of baccalaureate public affairs education recommended by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. The results are encouraging for public affairs education and democratic governance alike.
Descriptors: Public Affairs Education, Undergraduate Students, Citizenship Education, Civics, Democracy, Public Policy, Policy Formation, Governance, Prosocial Behavior, Student Educational Objectives, Curriculum, Skill Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A