advantages and disadvantages of civic education advantages and disadvantages of civic education

27 The Civic Mission of Schools (New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE: The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 2003), http://civicmission.s3.amazonaws.com/118/f7/1/172/2003_Civic_Mission_of_Schools_Report.pdf. Today those courses are very rare. For example, in the past decade, surveys conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center have found that: One can debate the importance of knowing the name of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the details of Paul Reveres ride, but there is little doubt that understanding such foundational concepts as checks and balances and the importance of an independent judiciary affects ones other attitudes. It's usually a solitary activity and, even if there is socialization, it's reduced to communication about the class subject. When compared to students in other industrialized nations in an international study of twenty-eight democracies, American fourteen year olds performed at a higher level than their counterparts in other democracies. 87 Joseph Kahne and Ellen Middaugh, Democracy for Some: The Civic Opportunity Gap in High School, CIRCLE Working Paper 59, February 2008, 2. http://www.civicyouth.org/circle-working-paper-59-democracy-for-some-the-civic-opportunity-gap-in-high-school/. Top 10 Advantages of Female Education. The last trace of hereditary ranks and distinctions is destroyed.11, Unsurprisingly, the educational system that ultimately developed in the United States bore the imprint of the countrys founding philosophy. Protecting members interest. Such an institution, though local in its legal character, would be universal in its beneficial effects. 34 Frederick M. Hess, Gary J. Schmitt, Cheryl Miller, and Jenna M. Schuette. Recognizing the problem, in June 2010 the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers released a set of state-led education standards designed to reduce the number and increase the quality of the standards set in math and science. In a national random sample of 866 public high school teachers and an oversample of 245 Catholic and private high school instructors, 83 percent viewed the United States as a unique country that stands for something special in the world; 82 percent thought pupils should be taught to respect and appreciate their country but know its shortcomings; and only 1 percent wanted students to learn that the U.S. is a fundamentally flawed country.34. 35 Robert Lerner, Althea K. Nagai, and Stanley Rothman, 36 Mary Frederickson, Surveying Gender: Another Look at the Way We Teach United States History,, 38 Wayne Journell, Standardizing Citizenship: The Potential Influence of State Curriculum Standards on the Civic Development of Adolescents,, 42 Common Core Standards Still Dont Make the Grade but Massachusetts and California Do!, http://www.educationnews.org/ed_reports/thinks_tanks/100142.html. 6. 6. Working with the states, the task force is charged with: To date, twenty-one states have joined the effort to develop common state standards. When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous. Some argued that the math standards were problematic because they were lower than those in place in high-achieving states such as Massachusetts.42 Others contended that national standards would stifle innovation in the states and constituted an unconstitutional expansion of federal authority.43. 4. 61 Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, 63 Barack Obamas Speech in Independence, Mo.,. 79 Ibid., 1; McMurrer, Instructional Time in Elementary Schools, 11; Von Zastrow with Janc, Academic Atrophy, 8. They worry that the standards movement may have inadvertently made the delivery of high-quality civic education more difficult. KATHLEEN HALL JAMIESON, a Fellow of the American Academy since 2001, is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. 70 Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, 272. In the presence of controls for other factors that could affect civics knowledge, having taken classes in that subject predicts a command of central concepts,45 an increase reflected in improved performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test.46 Civics education also heightens students confidence in their ability to perform such participatory functions as writing a letter to Congress.47. 43 Closing the Door on Innovation: Why One National Curriculum is Bad for America, May 2011, http://www.k12innovation.com/Manifesto/_V2_Home.html (accessed November 29, 2011). These presidential encomia to the indispensable role of education in a democracy prefigure the enactment of such landmark legislation as the 1862 Morrill Act, which gave each state federal land to establish land grant colleges, and the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which gave public schools federal assistance and oversight. See Woolley and Peters, The American Presidency Project. (Study conducted by Dr . . B. Wiley, 1866), 23. These data suggest that in satisfying its obligation to impart civics knowledge and critical thinking skills, the overall U.S. educational system may be performing somewhat better than the systems in place in other democracies. Because, as John Dewey contended, [d]emocracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife,1 the quality of civic education has been a concern of those interested in the health of our system of government and the well-being of the citizenry. This essay explores the value and state of civics education in the United States and identifies five challenges facing those seeking to improve its quality and accessibility: 1) ensuring that the quality of civics education is high is not a state or federal priority; 2) social studies textbooks do not facilitate the development of needed civic skills; 3) upper-income students are better served by our schools than are lower-income individuals; 4) cutbacks in funds available to schools make implementing changes in civics education difficult; and 5) reform efforts are complicated by the fact that civics education has become a pawn in a polarized debate among partisans. 24 George W. Bush, Remarks Announcing the Teaching American History and Civic Education Initiatives, September 17, 2002. . 6 Quoted in William Kent Gilbert, History of the College and Academy of Philadelphia, in The History of American Education Through Readings, ed. Second, social studies textbooks may not adequately convey the knowledge or facilitate development of the skills required of an informed, engaged citizenry. Helped the CMS state affiliates pass nearly seventy pieces of supportive state legislation in thirty-five states during the 2004 to 2010 legislative sessions. At the twelfth-grade level, students whose parents failed to graduate from high school were significantly less likely to be proficient (8 percent proficient/33 percent at least basic) than those whose parents graduated from college (40 percent proficient/75 percent basic).88, In practice these disparities translate into a political penalty for the already disadvantaged.89 As political theorist William Galston notes, [C]itizens with low levels of information cannot follow public discussion of issues, are less accepting of the give and take of democratic policy debates, make judgments on the basis of character rather than issues, and are significantly less inclined to participate in politics at all.90 When a segment of the population does not comprehend the political debate and lacks the wherewithal to affect collective decision-making, it forfeits its access to political power, a result that makes the political system both less representative of the will of the whole and less democratic.91, Underlying these findings are two realities. [T]he families of the great landed proprietors are almost all commingled with the general mass. Thaddeus Stevens, April 1835, The Pennsylvania School Journal, ed. Roughly one in four (23 percent) believed that when the Supreme Court divides 5-4, the decision is referred to Congress for resolution; 16 percent thought it needed to be sent back to the lower courts. State provides adequate funds for expansion as well as qualitative improvement of education. In contrast to their subpar command of math and science relative to other countries, on civic knowledge and skills U.S. students fair reasonably well. In a like vein, Thomas Jefferson included public education, along with roads, rivers, and canals, in a list of objects of public improvement as it may be thought proper to add to the constitutional enumeration of Federal powers.9 Drawing a similar connection between education and the productive exercise of citizenship, President James Madison argued in his second annual message: I . Those high school students who attend higher SES schools, those who are college-bound, and white students get more of these opportunities than low-income students, those not heading to college, and students of color.87, The twinned side of that reality is represented in the 2010 NAEP Civics Assessments report of significant disparities in scores by family income and parents level of education. 60 Shelley Billig, Sue Root, and Dan Jesse, The Impact of Participation in Service-Learning on High School Students Civic Engagement, CIRCLE Working Paper 33, May 2005. http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/WorkingPapers/WP33Billig.pdf. Fourth, cutbacks in funding for schools make implementation of changes in any area of the curriculum difficult. 14 Ravitch and Viteritti, Making Good Citizens, 5. 75 Talking Points on the Need to Restore the Civic Mission of Schools, Center for Civic Education, 2009, http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=talking_points. This may lead to less concentration in classes or Less focus on Study. 69 Henry Milner, The Informed Political Participation of Young Canadians and Americans, CIRCLE Working Paper 60, May 2006, http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/WorkingPapers/WP60Milner.pdf, 71 Lisa Winstead, The Impact of NCLB and Accountability on Social Studies Teacher Experiences and Perceptions about Teaching Social Studies,. 1, 3rd ed. Developed state-level campaign coalitions in each state. : Wm. See Woolley and Peters, The American Presidency Project, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=34792, 21 Speech of Hon. 19 Roy J. Honeywell, The Educational Work of Thomas Jefferson (Cambridge, Mass. 58 Corporation for National and Community Service, http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/performance_research.asp. 20 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New York: George Adlard, 1838), 297. A randomized field experiment concluded that involvement in Student Voices significantly boosted students confidence in their ability to make informed political decisions, their knowledge about how to register to vote, and their belief that their vote matters.54 Moreover, in a randomized controlled experiment, participation in Facing History and Ourselves programs result[ed] in: greater engagement in learning; increased skills for understanding and analyzing history; greater empathy and ethical awareness; increased civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions; an improved ability to recognize racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in themselves and in others; and reduced racist attitudes and self-reported fighting.55 Some civics programs, such as Kids Voting USA, have been shown to create a trickle-up effect, not only increasing the knowledge level and civic dispositions of the young but enhancing their parents political knowledge as well.56 Evidence also suggests that inclusion of civics education in a curriculum may correlate with a decreased dropout rate.57, In a similar vein, student involvement in service learning has produced civic benefits. Throughout much of its history, the United States has relied upon government schools as a principal purveyor of deeply cherished democratic values.2 So interconnected are education and citizenship that some historians contend that the most basic purpose of Americas schools is to teach children the moral and intellectual responsibilities of living and working in a democracy.3 Consistent with this view, Americans have expected schools to prepare future citizens, nurturing in children loyalty and common values and forging from them a strong national character.4 Among the implications of these arguments is the notion that the classroom is both the training ground for democracy and the incubator of its leaders. invite your attention to the advantages of superadding [sic] to the means of education provided by the several States a seminary of learning instituted by the National Legislature within the limits of their exclusive jurisdiction. Among the Campaigns goals, along with college and career preparation, is reestablishing civic learning as one of the three principal purposes of American education. See John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29438. But let's take a moment to recognize the importance of civic education and engagement, and how improvement in this area can positively impact our communities: It promotes broader awareness and deeper understanding of issues facing our communities and solutions proposed to address them. When public services undergo a privatization process, the result is a greater efficiency in the implementation of needed resources. Fuhrman and Lazerson, 312. The people give power to leaders they elect to represent them and serve their interests. Increased Participation. 54 Syvertsen et al., Using Elections as Teachable Moments.. It could be taught by biased people who are pushing you to advocate their own self-interested agenda. 74 Jamieson and Hardy, Will Public Ignorance and Partisan Election of Judges Undermine Public Trust in the Judiciary?; Jamieson and Hennessy, Public Understanding of and Support for the Courts, 899902. It occupies your time, preventing you from focusing on other things that may be more important in your life. American Academy of Arts & Sciences | Web Policy, Self-Interest Well Understood: The Origins & Lessons of Public Confidence in the Military, 3 Linda Darling-Hammond and Jacqueline Ancess, Democracy and Access to Education, in, 5 Carl H. Gross and Charles C. Chandler, Introduction,, 6 Quoted in William Kent Gilbert, History of the College and Academy of Philadelphia, in. We believe that it is a disservice to students to let them think that government ideally operates without conflict, as if it were possible to enact and administer laws that benefit everyone and harm no one.83, In addition to arguing that controversial issues should be discussed fairly and explicitly, the reviewers in that 1987 study recommended that texts change their focus from imparting information to preparing students to become concerned citizens. Students need to learn the value of public participation by becoming involved, they concluded.84 Nearly two decades later, political theorist Stephen Macedo and colleagues agreed that schools too often teach about citizenship and government without teaching students the skills that are necessary to become active citizens themselves.85 Importantly, human development scholars Judy Torney-Purta and Britt Wilkenfelds 2009 analysis of data from the IEA Civic Education Study found that [s]tudents who experience interactive discussion-based civic education (either by itself or in combination with lecture-based civic education) score the highest on the 21st Century Competencies, including working with others (especially in diverse groups) and knowledge of economic and political processes.86, Consequential differences in access and outcomes between upper- and lower-class students persist. Disadvantages of Co-Education. The importance of schooling was magnified by the young countrys impulse to turn away from primogeniture and entail. And [e]ven after the 1840s . . IMPORTANCE OR ADVANTAGES OF CIVIC EDUCATION 1. Economic growth. 86 Judith Torney-Purta and Britt S. Wilkenfeld, Executive Summary, in Paths to 21st Century Competencies Through Civic Education Classrooms: An Analysis of Survey Results from Ninth-Graders (Silver Spring, Md. 22 http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/ (accessed November 12, 2011). 10 James Madison, Second Annual Message, December 5, 1810. . : American Bar Association Division for Public Education and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools Curriculum, October 2009), 1. See Woolley and Peters, The American Presidency Project, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29448. The 2003 Civic Mission of Schools report argued that schools should not only help young people acquire and learn to use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives but also work to ensure that students: Elements of this reform agenda are controversial.