Title: Just Exactly What Is Civics Education? – Ed Note
Headings: Just Exactly What Is Civics Education?
Just Exactly What Is Civics Education?
Why is civics education needed?

Content: Critical thinking
Perspective-taking
Understanding, interpreting, and critiquing various media
Understanding, interpreting, and critiquing different points of view
Expressing one’s opinions
Active listening
Identifying public problems
Drawing connections between democratic concepts and principles and one’s own life experience
Civic Skills: Participatory
Civic participatory skills encompass knowing how to cope in groups and organizational settings, interface with elected officials and community representatives, communicate perspectives and arguments, and plan strategically for civic change. Engaging in dialogue with those who hold different perspectives
Active listening
Communicating through public speaking, letter writing, petitioning, canvassing, lobbying, protesting
Managing, organizing, participating in groups
Building consensus and forging coalitions
Community mapping
Utilizing electoral processes
Utilizing non-electoral means to voice opinion (protest, petitioning, surveying, letter writing, boycotting, and so on)
Planning and running meetings
Utilizing strategic networks for public ends
Organizing and demonstrating
Civic Dispositions
Civic dispositions encompass interpersonal and intrapersonal values, virtues, and behaviors. Tolerance and respect
Appreciation of difference
Rejection of violence
Concern with the rights and welfare of others
Commitment to balancing personal liberties with social responsibility to others
Personal efficacy
Sense of belonging to a group or polity
Readiness to compromise personal interests to achieve shared ends
Desire for community involvement
Attentiveness (to civic matters, the news, etc.) Why is civics education needed? For the purposes of this blog, I’m sorting the purposes of civics education into two broad categories – (1) those related to the health of our democracy and (2) those related to other issues. Though these categories are somewhat artificial, serve as something of an organizer. In the space below, I’m including three quotes that help to clarify why civics education is needed for the health of our democracy: From ECS’ State Civic Education Policy Framework: A core purpose of education in our society is to preserve and enhance democracy by cultivating students’ care and concern for their communities and equipping students with the knowledge and skills to participate effectively in democratic life.