civic education

According to both the NAEP U.S. history and civics test results and a national survey emulating a U.S. citizenship test, students and citizens in America are largely lacking the mastery of the subjects. At a time when history and civics education is highly politicized, we must improve their education to ensure future generations of capable citizens.

Rather than seeking to raise a generation of political activists and community organizers, civics programs should instill an informed love of our country based on the nation’s founding, how our system of government works, and what Americans have achieved – together with our many failings – since the nation was created.

Americans strongly disagree about how our K-12 schools should teach our system of self-government. Dozens of organizations offer rival civics education resources and many of them don't work. A new study published jointly by Pioneer Institute and the National Association of Scholars offers in-depth evaluations of 15 leading civics programs, grades them on their effectiveness, and offers recommendations for how Americans should build upon these programs.

This report, intended primarily for civics reformers considering how best to defend and improve traditional American civics education, surveys a selection of different civics offerings, both the traditional and the radical. Surveyed providers include organizations such as the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, We the People, and Hillsdale College’s 1776 Curriculum. It also provides recommendations about how civics reformers should build upon this existing array of civics curriculum resources to work most effectively to reclaim America’s civics education.

Author: David E. Campbell This paper reports on the state of civic education in Massachusetts, focusing particu- larly on the performance of charter schools in preparing their students for responsible citizenship. Data were collected in an extensive, original survey project that included...