How to Help Kids Become Skilled Citizens

The field of civic education is frequently marginalized and underfunded, but that neglect has spawned an opportunity to think creatively and expansively about what inclusive K–12 civic education really could be. In this episode, we explore new ways to help students develop civic identity, and to think civically, with a view to increasing future engagement in many kinds of communities and leadership settings.

Guests:

• Sarah Cole, assistant principal of literacy; Social Justice School, Washington, D.C.
• Eric Soto-Shed, lecturer on education, HGSE
• Jack Schneider, Dwight W. Allen Distinguished Professor and executive director, Beyond Test Scores Project, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Host:

Meira Levinson, Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society, HGSE

Key Takeaways:

• Teach students to show empathy toward others and look to the community to help.
• Empower students to both learn about and actively engage in the democratic process.
• Develop civic habits of mind including critical thinking.

Resources:

• How to Help Kids Become Skilled Citizens (Usable Knowledge)
• Teaching Students to be Skilled Citizens (Schneider, Soto-Shed, and McGovern)
• Rebuilding Civic Education (Usable Knowledge)
• The Roadmap (Educating for American Democracy)
• The Stubborn Unresponsiveness of Youth Voter Turnout to Civic Education: Quasi-Experimental Evidence From State-Mandated Civics Tests (Jung and Gopalan)
• Integrated Action Civics Project (UC Berkeley)
• Understanding and Supporting Student-Led Activism (Youth in Front online course)