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Civic Literacy and the Civic Mission of Schools
By: Cricket F.L. Kidwell, Ed.D.
Published in the National Social Studies Supervisors Association journal, the NSSSA Leader, Spring 2006
A national movement that invokes renewed interest in civic literacy has emerged and is gaining strength. The Civic Mission of Schools campaign encourages educators around the country to examine existing practice and instructional strategies in an assessment of how civic education goals are being met in our schools at all grade levels. Civic literacy is one critical aspect of civic education that addresses the skills needed for citizenship development as well as the connections to existing standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and critical thinking skills. At a time when voter disenfranchisement is increasing and voter turnout levels are decreasing, civic education is a critical issue for our schools, our citizens, and our future. The time has come to re-examine some of our basic practices in preparing our young people to become engaged, productive citizens.
The Civic Mission of Schools movement encourages examination of how schools might progress beyond quantitative assessment data and isolated instructional content to a renewed interest in addressing student learning in a societal context. In teaching our students to become future leaders and engaged citizens, all students should be acquiring the skills of civic literacy. To this end, educators in all regions of the country have begun an intentional and strategic effort in assessing and reviewing current teaching practice of civic literacy or, as is more commonly known in the broad sense, civic education.
Civic literacy should be embraced throughout the educational community without hesitation. We know that the fundamentals of democracy must be taught to each generation, as part of an on-going educational effort that begins with the earliest grades and continues through lifelong learning. We know that helping to create effective citizens for the 21st century requires a convergence of skills, knowledge, dispositions, and understanding of democratic practices, principles, and concepts. As most schools and districts across the county have adopted mission statements that clearly define citizenship or civic education as a primary objective of the educational process, civic literacy today is a mandate and high quality civic education is a moral obligation.
Civic literacy is an intentional instructional set of goals that provide skill practice, application, and evaluation of civic education issues and content. The term itself, civic literacy, draws attention to both the literacy movement in general and to the focus on skills as a part of the civic education curriculum package. Although civic education advocates are united in their understanding of the need for a strong civic knowledge base through history and government classes that focus on content, available curriculum resources have been less attentive to the development of cognitive and participatory skills. This is particularly true in educational climates that emphasize testing data and standardized tests to the detriment of class activities such as structured debate, analysis of current events, understanding of judicial review of contemporary issues, and student-initiated projects. The civic literacy curriculum represents a coherent curriculum effort that addresses higher level thinking skills, informed decision-making practices, evaluation of information, participatory skills, and civic engagement, and understanding of the broad implications of political, economic, and social issues. Civic literacy is a direct response against attitudes of alienation and distrust of government, disengagement of youth, and disconnectedness between school, community, and life skills.
A project sponsored by the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools in California and the Constitutional Rights Foundation has selected ten high schools to examine, within the school setting, how to adopt a stronger and more effective civic mission within their schools. Foothill High School of Palo Cedro, a rural comprehensive high school of approximately 2000 students in the far northern part of California, was one of the selected schools. A group of six teacher-leaders from across departments and disciplines came together, in the spirit of a professional learning community, to plan and implement a school-wide civic literacy focus.
The planning at Foothill High School began with a review of the six recommendations of the CIRCLE report, a report of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. These recommendations for effective civic education, based on research-based scholarship, include 1) providing a strong foundation of classroom instructional content in democratic foundations; 2) classroom discussion of current events; 3) service learning; 4) extracurricular activities; 5) increased use and quality of student voice in school governance; and 6) classroom simulations such as mock trial, mock congressional hearings, debate, and other projects.
As teachers at Foothill High School began to discuss the recommendations, they assessed the current program at their school and, simultaneously, began to identify areas and programs that could be improved or implemented. From the new ideas generated, a school-wide plan emerged that included development of a teacher resource packet, monthly themes around civic education topics, formation of a student activist group, development of literature and a Website, and numerous presentations to community and school groups. The teacher resource packet included articles and resources for increasing and improving classroom discussion, civic education themes and topics, service learning project development, simulation activities, and civic education in general. The monthly themes included topics such as rights and responsibilities, ethics, decision-making, tolerance, civic engagement, volunteerism, voting, justice, authority, and civic virtue. The program emphasized dialogue, questioning skills, and taking and defending a stand on issues.
Through the two year process of the development of this program at Foothill High School, civic literacy has blossomed. Students have expressed increased interest in current events and school governance. Students have become increasingly involved in community issues, careers in community leadership, and current events. Teachers have become interested in cross-discipline efforts centered on civic education themes and projects. Parents and school board members have become more aware of civic education goals.
The planning and program development process of Foothill High School can easily be replicated at any school. The three-step planning process includes assessment of current programs, generation of new ideas, and developing a plan for implementation. The implementation phase, at times concurrent with the planning phase, includes trying new programs, integrating the civic education themes with existing curriculum, developing classroom resources, and adjusting the planned activities as needed.
To begin your school or district planning process, discussion should focus on the six recommendations of the CIRCLE report. From those activities, the following checklist for program assessment of civic literacy should include the following:
Cognitive and Reasoning Skills
- Development of logical argument (oral and written)
- Persuasive argument development or debate skills
- Multiple perspectives
- Evaluation of information
- Recognition of bias
- Drawing conclusions based on evidence
- Decision making skills
- Analytic and synthesis skills
Foundational Content
- Historical understanding
- Foundations of democracy
- Government structure and institutions
- Constitutional constructs
- Landmark Supreme Court cases
- Political, economic, and geographic knowledge
Participation Skills
- Communication skills
- Formal debate skills
- Consensus-building and compromise
- Working together
- Simulations of institutional processes (e.g. Mock Trial, Mock Congressional Hearings)
- Student voice (school and/or local governance)
- Community involvement
- Volunteerism
Dispositions and Attitudes
- Equity and inclusiveness
- Voting and campaign activism
- Community issues interest and research
- Service learning
- Civic engagement
- Role models and career exploration
- Opportunities for school and community involvement
The CIRCLE report is available at Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and resources can be obtained from Websites such as Center for Civic Education (Outside Source) or Constitutional Rights Foundation (Outside Source) or Educating for Democracy. A Web site for student voices on current issues can be accessed at Student Voices (Outside Source).
Civic literacy is a noble attempt to address literacy issues from across the disciplines with a focused, coherent, central theme of citizenship. The potential for success increases dramatically with the adoption of student-centered activities and discussion on topics of relevance and importance. The intentional and focused examination of civic literacy within the school setting will generate lively discussion, new perspectives, and great ideas among teachers, students, and all stakeholders in the education of our students. Perhaps most importantly of all, we should aspire to achieve the recognition that the civic education of our students belongs not exclusively to the history-social science departments, but to all who have a part in the development of our citizens and future leaders.
References
Carnegie Corporation of New York & the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). (2003). The Civic Mission of Schools. College Park, MD: Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE.
DuFour, Richard and Robert Eacker. Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement. 2004. Solution Tree (Outside Source) ISBN 1-879639-60-2.
Kidwell, Frances L. (Cricket). The Relationship Between Civic Education and State Policy: An evaluative Study. 2005. Available at Trinity County Office of Education (Outside Source).
Kirlin, Mary. Promising Approaches to Strengthening Civic Education (White Paper presented to the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools). March 28, 2005. Available at Education for Democracy (Outside Source).
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