Civic Education in a Time of Democratic Crisis

by gregory white, dian dong, david campbell, and carol d. lee

Democracy has been on the decline globally for 16 consecutive years. U.S. democracy mirrors a similar trend, with increasing public distrust in government, rising polarizations, and growing disinformation and other threats from rapid advances in technology—all of which sound the alarm bell that such division has made it difficult for diverse peoples living in the U.S. to listen to each other and find common ground. And amid these democratic challenges, the 2022 NAEP Civics assessment results show a persistently low level of civics knowledge – a warning sign that our younger generation is not adequately prepared for these complex challenges. Further, as critical public institutions, schools have also become battlegrounds where nationally coordinated partisan actors are working to ban books, silence history, and restrict service learning, further infringing upon students’ already limited opportunities to experience a high-quality civic education.

There is an urgent need to transform civic education so that all students are prepared to undertake the democratic decision-making and problem-solving necessary to address mounting socio-political and ecological challenges that are on the horizon. New research makes the case for this expanded vision of civic education. In the ANNALS special issue on Civic Education in a Time of Democratic Crisis, articles advance theory and research from across the political, social, and behavioral sciences to illustrate robust forms of civic education that will prepare all young people with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to become engaged civic actors capable of upholding our fragile democratic traditions and addressing increasingly urgent public challenges.

For example, the special issue highlights a recent report by the National Academy of Education (NAEd) that integrates emerging evidence from the science of learning and human development and other disciplinary domains into an inquiry-oriented, problem-based, and cross-curriculum approach to civic learning. The NAEd report addresses the importance of equipping students with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to understand the complexity of public issues, value multiple points of view, and work across differences to find common ground. Additionally, a complementary initiative, Educating for American Democracy, presents a bipartisan effort that sought consensus on a roadmap to strengthen the teaching of history and civics for a future generation of informed and responsible citizens.

Multiple articles examine the complex learning demands of civic reasoning and discourse. Research highlights the intertwined nature of students’ thinking, perceptions, and emotions as well as the importance of inter- and intrapersonal skills that students need to engage with complex topics and dialogue across differences. Other articles provide insights for the design of safe and culturally relevant learning environments that are deeply grounded in students’ lived experiences and diverse backgrounds, which empower students to become agentic civic actors. Equally important are efforts that advance meaningful civic learning through structured programmatic interventions that engage students in civic learning—in higher education, this includes initiatives to promote the electoral engagement of college students. Another article addresses the inadequate preparation of students to navigate civic discourse in the rapidly shifting digital space where disinformation and algorithmic manipulation can quickly spread and lead to serious consequences in real life.

The issue concludes with recommendations for high-quality civic education, including expanding it beyond a one-shot course to include learning opportunities across subject matters and grades, enhancing civics curriculum to attend to the complexity of public challenges, and attending to the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to engage in reasoned judgment and democratic decision making.

Improving civic education must be an urgent priority for all of us. The health of our democracy depends on it.

Read the authors’ article here.

Article Details
Civic Education in a Time of Democratic Crisis
Gregory White, Dian Dong, David E. Campbell, Carol D. Lee
First Published November 4, 2023 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/00027162231190539
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

About the Authors

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Gregory White is a sociologist who serves as the Executive Director of the National Academy of Education. He oversees education research studies and fellowship programs, including the Academy’s work in civic reasoning and discourse. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

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Dian Dong is a senior program officer at the National Academy of Education, where she guides and develops research programs and initiatives aimed at advancing high-quality research for use in policy and practice. She has a background in social psychology, program evaluation, and international development.

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David Campbell is the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame. His most recent book is Secular Surge: A New Fault Line in American Politics (with Geoff Layman and John Green), which received the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

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Carol D. Lee is the Edwina S. Tarry Professor Emerita in the School of Education at Northwestern University, and President of the National Academy of Education. Her research focuses on cultural and ecological supports for learning, particularly in the area of disciplinary literacies.