What are the ingredients for an effective civic education?
In March of this year, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) issued a position statement that declared,
At its core, civic education should provide students with the ability to take informed action to address problems relevant to life in a democratic republic. It should target the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to ensure that young people are truly capable of becoming active and engaged participants in civic life.
In a conversation Ed Crego had recently with former U.S. Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), he opined, and we are paraphrasing, that “learning civics is like learning to play music. You can’t do so just by reading about it; you need to learn by doing.”
In effective music education, students learn to play instruments. In effective civic education, students become the instruments. Their understanding, actions and voices provide the scores for their civic engagement.
The question becomes then how many students in grades K-12 across this nation are receiving an effective civic education that prepares them to be in the band and part of the citizens’ choir?
There is no hard data on this. But the answer is not nearly enough.
With the increased emphasis on science, technology, education, and math (STEM) and the associated testing, there is precious little civics in elementary and middle school today. And what passes for civics in the majority of our high schools is a history course and some type of citizenship test focused on knowledge of the Constitution and U.S. government.
In its position statement, the NCSS drew upon the 2011 Guardian of Democracy report to enunciate six proven practices for effective civic education: classroom instruction; discussing current events and controversial issues; service learning; extracurricular activities; participation in school governance; and simulations of democratic processes. It further suggested that consideration should be given to expanding these practices to include: news media and literacy education; social and emotional learning; school climate reform; and action civics.
While the majority of what is labeled civic education in this country does not adhere to most of the recommended proven practices, there are some notable examples where they are embraced. They include:
- Civic Learning and Engagement in Florida. In 2010, Florida passed theSandra Day O’Connor Civics Education Act, which connects elementary, middle and high school civic education to ensure that students get the building blocks of civic participation at appropriate levels. That education begins in elementary English and language arts classes, is anchored by a middle school civics course that culminates in a high stakes, end-of-course exam, and is capped by experiential civic learning during high school.
- Civic Learning and Engagement in Illinois. The cornerstone of the civic learning and engagement activities in in this state is Illinois Democracy Schools, a network of sixty-seven high schools coordinated by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition and convened by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. In 2015, due in large part to leadership from McCormick, the state legislature passed a ground-breaking new civic education law requiring that all high school students take a stand-alone civics course that includes having to meet content standards for advanced civic skills such as deliberation.
- iCivics is the “largest provider of civics curriculum in the nation reaching nearly 200,000 teachers and 5 million students in all 50 states.” It was founded in 2009 by former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor because she felt that “civic education had practically disappeared from the school curriculum.” Educational games and simulations such as Cast Your Vote, Immigration Nation, Do I Have a Right?, We the Jury, and Win the White House are at the heart of iCivics. iCivics’ materials are provided free to classrooms across the country.
- Our American Voice (OAV) is an Illinois-based action civics program for elementary and middle school students (grades 4–8) run by the Barat Education Foundation (BEF). OAV is implemented in two parts: Part I: Civic Content Knowledge Acquisition and Part II: Action Learning, creation and execution of a project to address a school or community issue or problem. In 2018, OAV celebrated its 10th year by serving 26 schools and approximately 1,000 students in disadvantaged communities throughout the state. More than 200 student-led initiatives have come to fruition in the heartland since the program began.
The need to enhance and to make our civic education more effective has been on the nation’s radar screen since at least the beginning of the 21st century. In 2003, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement released its seminal report, The Civic Mission of Schools.
The 2011 Guardian of Democracy report cited earlier in this piece was a successor to that report. In 2012, the Department of Education under the Obama administration released a Road Map and Call to Action for Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy. In 2013, the American Academy’s Commission on Humanities and Social Studies issued a reportstressing the need to expand the educational envelope beyond STEM to include civic education. In 2017, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation convened a national summit, Democracy at A Crossroads: Our Nation’s Needs Innovative Civic Learning Now!
In spite of this substantial attention, actual progress in addressing the nation’s civic education gap — some might call it a chasm — has been slim. What are the reasons for this?
A Civic Learning Coalition Project being led by iCivics is currently conducting a national survey that will disclose respondents’ assessment on the state of civic education in America and the primary reasons and root causes for that state. Because the report is not available yet, we would like to put forward three reasons that are top of mind for us for the lack of progress. They are: a knowledge and testing focus; a partisan perspective; and citizenship alienation.
Knowledge and Testing Focus: The primary driver for this focus from September 2015 through September 2017 was the Civics Education Initiativecreated and sponsored by the Joe Foss Institute in Scottsdale, AZ. The goal of the Initiative was to have all 50 states pass legislation requiring high school students “to pass a test on 100 basic facts of U.S. history and civics” taken from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Naturalization Test as a requirement for graduation.
By September 2017, 17 states had passed some version of that legislation. Interestingly, most of them were what would be considered “red” or Republican states. The problem with the knowledge and testing focus alone is that knowledge is a necessary but not sufficient condition for an effective civic education.
A Partisan Perspective: By partisan in this context, we mean a supporter or champion of a particular or personal cause. An example of this perspective is provided by a recent blog titled “Can Social Studies Get Even Worse?” by Chester E. Finn, Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus of the Fordham Institute.
In this new piece, Finn renews the polemical attacks on social studies that he first launched in a 2003 report. This missive was prompted by the NCSS position statement cited earlier which called for the consideration of other alternatives to the USCIS Naturalization Test as a “high stakes or ultimate measure of civic learning readiness.” Shawn P. Healy, Democracy Program Director at the McCormack Foundation, does an excellent job in refuting Mr Finn’s analysis and polemics in a response post for IllinoisCivics.Org.
We would add to Mr. Healy’s refutations one additional comment.
Near the end of his blog, Finn attempts to justify the use of the USCIS Naturalization Test by contending ‘something is better than nothing.” That is patently untrue. What is better is an assessment of the effectiveness of our students’ civic education and preparedness to be “active, engaged citizens.” A civic education that achieves this goal is something better, and nothing less.
Citizenship Alienation: Citizenship alienation from the American political, electoral and governmental processes is not a new phenomenon. Recent studies reveal that alienation is intensifying and affecting citizens’ feelings and attitudes regarding the importance of our very democracy itself.
For example, a Pew research study released in October of 2017 revealed that while 44% of those surveyed were fully committed to America’s representative democracy, a staggering 42% were less committed, and 7% would prefer a nondemocratic option. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Democracyshowed that there is great indifference among American millennials about the importance of living in a representative democracy with only around 30% of the respondents according it “maximal importance.”
The problem, unequivocally, in the year 2018 is that our American democracy is in decline. It needs to be saved. Effective civic education and a citizen commitment to ensuring that education can provide that salvation.
In our most recent previous post in this series, “The Struggle for America’s Head, Heart and Soul,” we observed that “the answer to winning these three fights must come from the “us” in USA. The citizens must stand and deliver in order to give leaders the opportunity to follow them.”
The Parkland students have set the example for what can be accomplished by students who have received an effective civic education. We adults must follow in their footsteps by joining together as a band of brothers and sisters to promote that type of comprehensive civic education for K-12 students across this country. It’s time to strike up the band!
Ni nini viungo vya elimu ya kiraia yenye matokeo? "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika taarifa ya Baraza la Taifa la Mafunzo ya Jamii (NCSS) mnamo Machi mwaka huu, ""Katika kiini chake, elimu ya kiraia inapaswa kuwapa wanafunzi uwezo wa kuchukua hatua inayoeleweka ili kushughulikia matatizo yanayohusiana na maisha katika jamhuri ya kidemokrasia.""" Ni lazima kuelekeza maarifa, ujuzi na nia muhimu ili kuhakikisha kwamba vijana ni kweli uwezo wa kuwa na ushiriki wa kazi na kushiriki katika maisha ya kiraia. Katika mazungumzo ya hivi karibuni na Ed Crego, Seneta Bob Graham (D-FL), alitoa maoni, na tunatafsiri, kwamba <unk>kujifunza elimu ya kiraia ni kama kujifunza kucheza muziki. Huwezi kufanya hivyo kwa kusoma tu juu yake; unahitaji kujifunza kwa kufanya. Katika elimu ya muziki yenye ufanisi, wanafunzi hujifunza kucheza vyombo. Katika elimu ya kiraia yenye ufanisi, wanafunzi huwa vyombo. Uelewa wao, vitendo na sauti hutoa alama kwa ushiriki wao wa kiraia. "Swali linakuja: ""Ni wanafunzi wangapi katika darasa la K-12 katika nchi hii wanapata elimu ya kiraia yenye ufanisi ambayo inawaandaa kuwa katika bendi na sehemu ya kwaya ya raia?""" Hakuna data thabiti kuhusu jambo hilo. Lakini jibu hilo halitoshi hata kidogo. Kwa kuongezeka kwa msisitizo juu ya sayansi, teknolojia, elimu, na hisabati (STEM) na upimaji unaohusiana, kuna elimu ndogo ya kiraia katika shule ya msingi na ya kati leo. "Kama ilivyo kwa masomo ya umma katika shule zetu za sekondari, ni kozi ya historia na aina fulani ya mtihani wa uraia, ""iliyozingatia maarifa ya Katiba na serikali ya Marekani.""" Katika taarifa yake, NCSS ilitumia ripoti ya 2011 ya Mlinzi wa Demokrasia kuelezea mazoea sita yaliyothibitishwa kwa elimu ya kiraia: mafunzo ya darasani, majadiliano ya matukio ya sasa na masuala ya utata, kujifunza huduma, shughuli za ziada, ushiriki katika utawala wa shule, na simulations ya michakato ya kidemokrasia. Pia, ilitoa pendekezo kwamba kuzingatia kupanua mazoea haya kujumuisha: vyombo vya habari na elimu ya kusoma na kuandika; kujifunza kijamii na kihisia; marekebisho ya hali ya hewa ya shule; na vitendo vya kiraia. Ingawa wengi wa kile kinachoitwa elimu ya kiraia nchini Marekani haifuati mazoezi mengi yaliyopendekezwa, kuna mifano kadhaa inayojulikana ambapo yanafuatwa. Wao ni pamoja na: - Civic Kujifunza na Ushirikiano katika Florida. "Sada ya kwanza ya sheria ya elimu ya kiraia ya Florida, Sandra Day O'Connor, ilitangaza ""Sehemu ya Sera ya Elimu ya Kiraia ya Shule ya Msingi, ya Kati na ya Upili"" ambayo inahakikisha wanafunzi wanajifunza mambo muhimu ya ushiriki wa kiraia katika shule za msingi." Elimu huanza katika darasa la msingi la Kiingereza na sanaa za lugha, huimarishwa na kozi ya elimu ya kiraia ya shule ya kati ambayo hufikia kilele katika mtihani wa mwisho wa kozi, na hufungwa na kujifunza kwa uzoefu wa kiraia wakati wa shule ya sekondari. - Mafunzo ya Kiraia na Ushirikiano katika Illinois. Shirika la Illinois Civic Mission Coalition (ILC) na Shirika la Robert R. McCormick Foundation (RMCF) zimeanzisha Shirika la Shirika la Illinois Civic Mission Coalition (ILC) na Shirika la Illinois Democracy Schools (IDS). Mwaka 2015, kwa sababu ya uongozi wa McCormick, bunge la jimbo lilipitisha sheria mpya ya elimu ya kiraia inayohitaji wanafunzi wote wa shule ya sekondari kuchukua kozi ya kujitegemea ya elimu ya kiraia ambayo inajumuisha kukidhi viwango vya maudhui kwa ujuzi wa kiraia wa hali ya juu kama vile kujadili. "Icivics ni ""mtoaji mkubwa wa mtaala wa elimu ya kiraia nchini, ikifikia karibu walimu 200,000 na wanafunzi milioni 5 katika majimbo yote 50"" Ilianzishwa mnamo 2009 na hakimu wa zamani wa Mahakama Kuu Sandra Day O'Connor kwa sababu alihisi kwamba ""elimu ya kiraia ilikuwa imetoweka kabisa kutoka kwa mtaala wa shule"" Michezo ya elimu na simulation kama vile ""Kutoa Kura Yako,"" ""Uhamiaji, Je, Nina Haki?""" vifaa iCivics ni zinazotolewa bure kwa madarasa kote nchini. "Mkutano wa ""Our American Voice"" (OAV) ni mpango wa elimu ya kiraia wa Illinois kwa wanafunzi wa shule za msingi na za kati (grades 4 - 8) unaofanywa na Barat Education Foundation (BEF)." OAV ni sehemu ya kwanza ya elimu ya raia na sehemu ya pili ya kujifunza hatua, uundaji na utekelezaji wa mradi wa kushughulikia suala au tatizo la shule au jamii. Mwaka huu, OAV imefikia miaka yake ya kumi kwa kuwahudumia wanafunzi wa shule 26 na wanafunzi wa karibu 1,000 katika jamii zilizoathiriwa katika jimbo lote. Zaidi ya mipango 200 iliyoongozwa na wanafunzi imefikia matunda katika eneo la moyo tangu programu hiyo ilipoanza. """Uhitaji wa kuboresha na kufanya elimu yetu ya kiraia iwe na ufanisi zaidi umekuwa kwenye skrini ya rada ya taifa tangu angalau mwanzo wa karne ya 21." "Mwaka 2003 shirika la Carnegie Corporation la New York na Kituo cha Habari na Utafiti juu ya Mafunzo ya Kiraia na Ushirikiano wa Kiraia (CIRC) walichapisha ripoti yao ya ""Ujumbe wa Kiraia wa Shule.""" Ripoti ya Guardian ya Demokrasia ya 2011 iliyosemwa hapo awali katika kipande hiki ilikuwa mrithi wa ripoti hiyo. "Mwaka 2012, Wizara ya Elimu ya Marekani ilitoa ""Mapu ya Barabara na Wito wa Hatua kwa Kuendeleza Mafunzo ya Raia na Ushirikiano katika Demokrasia.""" Tume ya masomo ya kibinadamu na kijamii ya Chuo Kikuu cha Marekani ilitoa ripoti ya 2013 inayoonyesha umuhimu wa kupanua elimu ya STEM ili kujumuisha elimu ya kiraia. "Mwaka 2017, shirika la Carnegie Corporation la New York na William na Flora Hewlett Foundation waliandaa mkutano wa kitaifa, ""Democracy at a Crossroads: Our Nation Needs Innovative Civic Learning Now.""" Licha ya umakini huu mkubwa, maendeleo halisi katika kushughulikia pengo la elimu ya kiraia ya taifa - wengine wanaweza kuiita pengo - yamekuwa madogo. Ni sababu gani za kufanya hivyo? Mradi wa Muungano wa Mafunzo ya Raia unaoongozwa na iCivics kwa sasa unafanya uchunguzi wa kitaifa ambao utafunua tathmini ya waliohojiwa juu ya hali ya elimu ya kiraia nchini Marekani na sababu za msingi na sababu za msingi za hali hiyo. Kwa kuwa ripoti haijapatikana bado, tungependa kuwasilisha sababu tatu ambazo ni za juu kwa akili yetu kwa ukosefu wa maendeleo. Ni: ujuzi na kupima lengo; mtazamo wa chama; na uraia alienation. "Kuchunguza kwa ""Ujuzi na Upimaji"" ni mradi wa kwanza wa elimu ya raia ulioanzishwa na kufadhiliwa na Taasisi ya Joe Foss huko Scottsdale, AZ." Lengo la mpango huo lilikuwa kuwa na majimbo yote 50 kupitisha sheria inayohitaji wanafunzi wa shule ya sekondari kupitisha mtihani juu ya ukweli wa msingi wa historia ya Marekani na elimu ya kiraia iliyochukuliwa kutoka kwa Uhakika wa Uraia na Huduma za Uhamiaji wa Marekani (USCIS) kama mahitaji ya kuhitimu. Kufikia Septemba 2017, majimbo 17 yalikuwa yamepitisha toleo fulani la sheria hiyo. Kwa kupendeza, wengi wao walikuwa kile ambacho kingehesabiwa kuwa "nyekundu" au majimbo ya Republican. Tatizo na maarifa na kupima lengo peke yake ni kwamba maarifa ni lazima lakini si hali ya kutosha kwa ajili ya elimu ya kiraia ufanisi. Kwa upande wa chama, katika muktadha huu, tunamaanisha msaidizi au shujaa wa sababu fulani au ya kibinafsi. "Mfano wa mtazamo huu unapatikana katika blogi ya hivi karibuni yenye kichwa ""Je, Mafunzo ya Jamii yanaweza kuwa Mbaya Zaidi?"" na Chester E. Finn, Jr., Mshiriki Mtendaji Mtukufu na Rais Emeritus wa Taasisi ya Fordham." Katika makala yake ya mwisho, Finn anatoa maoni yake juu ya utafiti wa kijamii na jinsi ya kuendeleza utafiti huo. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika taarifa ya msimamo wa NCSS iliyotajwa hapo awali, ambayo ilitaka kuzingatia mbadala nyingine kwa mtihani wa asili wa USCIS kama ""mashindano ya juu au kipimo cha mwisho cha utayari wa kujifunza raia,"" Shawn P. Healy, Mkurugenzi wa Programu ya Demokrasia katika McCormack Foundation, hufanya kazi bora katika kupinga uchambuzi wa Mr. Finn na mjadala katika chapisho la majibu kwa IllinoisCivics.org." Tungependa kuongeza kwa kupinga kwa Mheshimiwa Healy maoni moja ya ziada. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika makala ya mwisho ya blogi yake, Finn anajaribu kuhalalisha matumizi ya mtihani wa asili wa USCIS kwa kusema ""kitu ni bora kuliko kitu chochote"" - jambo ambalo ni wazi kuwa sio kweli." "Kile kilicho bora ni tathmini ya ufanisi wa elimu ya raia ya wanafunzi wetu na utayari wa kuwa ""raia wenye bidii, waliohusika"" Elimu ya kiraia ambayo inafikia lengo hili ni kitu bora, na hakuna kitu kidogo." Uhamiaji wa uraia: Uhamiaji wa uraia kutoka kwa michakato ya kisiasa, uchaguzi na serikali ya Amerika si jambo jipya. Uchunguzi wa hivi karibuni unaonyesha kuwa kujitenga kunazidisha na kuathiri hisia na mitazamo ya raia kuhusu umuhimu wa demokrasia yetu yenyewe. Kwa mfano, utafiti wa Pew uliochapishwa Oktoba 2017 ulifunua kwamba wakati 44% ya wale waliochunguzwa walikuwa wamejitolea kabisa kwa demokrasia ya uwakilishi wa Amerika, 42% ya kushangaza walikuwa wamejitolea kidogo, na 7% wangependa chaguo lisilo la kidemokrasia. "Utafiti uliochapishwa katika jarida la ""Journal of Democracy"" ulionyesha kuwa kuna kutojali sana kati ya millennials wa Amerika juu ya umuhimu wa kuishi katika demokrasia ya uwakilishi, na karibu 30% tu ya waliohojiwa walipa umuhimu mkubwa, ""katika mwaka wa 2018 ni wazi kuwa demokrasia yetu ya Amerika inashuka." Inahitaji kuokolewa. Mafunzo ya kiraia yenye ufanisi na kujitolea kwa raia kuhakikisha kwamba elimu inaweza kutoa wokovu huo. Katika chapisho letu la hivi karibuni la mfululizo huu, "The Struggle for America's Head, Heart and Soul", tuliona kwamba "jibu la kushinda mapigano haya matatu lazima litoke kwa "watu" nchini Marekani. "Wananchi wanapaswa kusimama na kutoa ili kuwapa viongozi fursa ya kuwafuata. ""Wanafunzi wa Parkland wameweka mfano wa kile kinachoweza kutimizwa na wanafunzi ambao wamepokea elimu ya kiraia yenye ufanisi." """Tunapaswa kufuata nyayo zao kwa kuungana pamoja kama kundi la ndugu na dada ili kukuza aina hiyo ya elimu ya kiraia ya kina kwa wanafunzi wa K-12 kote nchini." Ni wakati wa kupiga bendi!