ResearchPosted on rand.org 2012Published in: Making Civics Count: Citizenship Education for a New Generation / Edited by David E. Campbell, Meira Levinson, and Frederick M. Hess (Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard Education Press, 2012), Ch. 6, p. 135-159
The majority of U.S. K-12 students learn about civic education by reading about it in a textbook, filling in worksheets associated with the textbook, and listening to teachers lecture about the material covered in the textbook. This textbook-worksheet-lecture combination is not an ideal means through which to engage students. To gain the skills necessary to engage as citizens, students need to practice those skills, and they need to understand the value of doing so. Without a strong combination of district, state, federal government, or community-based organization commitment, more engaging versions of civic education will not flourish.
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