h"p://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/ system/files/civic_report.pdf - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

h"p://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/ system/files/civic_report.pdf

Abby Kiesa , Director of Impact at CIRCLE

Maryam Judar , ExecuEve Director, the CiEzen Advocacy Center

Marshall Croddy, president of ConsEtuEonal Rights FoundaEon

Jan Brennan a Project Leader at EducaEon Commission of the States’ NaEonal Center for Learning and Civic Engagement

All Together Now: Collaboration and Innovation for Youth Engagement Abby Kiesa CIRCLE Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University www. civicyouth .org

What do we mean by civic educa<on? • Civic knowledge is deep, complex, applied • Pedagogy should involve framing quesEons, deliberaEng soluEons, experiencing acEons • Goal is to prepare for involvement in civic life, which includes: Analysis Taking Building & Concrete Maintaining Discussion Civic AcEon RelaEonship Strategies Working & ReflecEon Across Planning Difference Working on Actual CollaboraEon Problems

A bit about the current context Inequality PolarizaEon of Civic Life parEes, TransiEons to processes & On & Offline media Trends within Youth Civic Demographics Engagement EducaEon

OpportuniEes & Challenges Deep polarizaEon and ideological conflict Growing A powerful inequality of role for social civic media opportuniEes An increasingly diverse youth populaEon

Commission on Youth Voting and Civic Knowledge • Distinguished, interdisciplinary group • Funded by S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation , the W.T. Grant Foundation , the Robert R. McCormick Foundation , the Spencer Foundation , and the Youth Engagement Fund www. civicyouth .org

Commission on Youth Voting and Civic Knowledge • Data on 6,913 people in total • Including teachers (720), stakeholders, and young people • Scan of state policies relevant to voting, voter registration, social studies, civics, teacher certification and school performance indices www. civicyouth .org

Some of our findings: « Some of the standard reform proposals are actually misconceived « But educaEng and engaging young people has long term effects « EffecEve pracEces develop skills as well as knowledge « Yet there are major gaps in exposure and quality « Strengthening civic educaEon requires more support of teachers

We know more about what works … Service-learning Discussing addressing current issues “root causes” Being told to and Extracurricular taught to vote by participation a teacher www. civicyouth .org

There continue to be unequal opportunities & outcomes … « Civics well-taught in some advantaged communities, but much less so in schools that serve low-income and minority youth « White, wealthy students are 4-6 times more likely to exceed “proficient” in civics « 7% of low-SES students reached “proficient.” www. civicyouth .org

Support teachers … 24.8% of teachers thought that parents or other adults would object if politics was discussed in their government course www. civicyouth .org

Exciting Civic Education Trends C3 Standards – Gamified & Simulated AP Civics as a deeper preparation for informed civic learning civics engagement experiences State policy • Integration of civic learning Learning by taking civic Extracurricular & Out- in elementary grade reading action; “Action Civics” of-School Time • Project-based assessments • Application of knowledge to real-world problem www. civicyouth .org

Innovation « Better state standards « Support teachers’ obligation to include discussions of current issues « Lower the voting age to 17 « Badges for excellence in civics www. civicyouth .org

Collabora<on « Focus on quality implementaEon processes « Statewide coaliEons, as in CA, FL, IL « Align civics and voEng laws « Assign students to discuss news at home « Badges awarded by schools and others

To break this pattern, we need innovation and collaboration … www. civicyouth .org

Civics is Back in Illinois Maryam Judar ExecuEve Director/Community Lawyer CiEzen Advocacy Center Elmhurst, Illinois

Poor Civic Health in Illinois • Decades without civics requirement in public schools • Fewer social studies requirements than any other state in the naEon • Civic Health Crisis – Illinois Civic Health Index 2010 – Illinois Civic Blueprint 2 nd ediEon Public Policy Chapter – Le"ers to the Editor – early and oaen and seize the moment

Strategy Civic Health Crisis • – Two decades providing assistance to individuals seeking to be civically engaged but without the knowledge or skills to do so – BenedicEne University Public Policy students and local government survey – Former Illinois A"orney General and gubernatorial candidate – Collaborated on idea of the Task Force on Civic EducaEon – Sought General Assembly Leadership buy-in Draaed Task Force legislaEon to include different stakeholders as • members (17 members culled to 13 in legislaEve process, cugng out student appointments) Reviewed case studies from other states (Florida, Tennessee) • Meanwhile, convened Public Policy Commi"ee meeEngs at Illinois Civic • Mission CoaliEon events

Bringing Back Civics • Task Force legislaEon passed in 2013 • Task Force meets during 2014 and holds public hearings • Final report released December 2014

Task Force RecommendaEons 1. Require a civic educaEon course in high school (completed) 2. Revise Illinois Social Studies Standards (completed) 3. Require a service learning project in middle and high schools 4. Align licensure and cerEficaEon requirements for pre- service teachers with best pracEces 5. Involve students in the elecEon process 6. Extend the Task Force to gather public input through public hearings (completed)

Bringing Back Civics, cont. • Legislators sponsored legislaEon mandaEng civics course in public high schools in 2015 • Bill passed with separate bill amending implementaEon date for school year 2016-2017 for the incoming class • Signed by Governor Rauner August 2015 • Requires simulaEon of government processes, discussion of current and controversial issues, and service learning

Public-Private Partnership • Robert R. McCormick FoundaEon organized foundaEons to allocate money to the effort to train social studies teachers over a 3-year period – Recruited and retained public affairs firm with extensive relaEonships in Illinois capitol • Shawn Healy, civic learning scholar, chaired Social Studies Standards Revision Task Force during 2016, worked in collaboraEon with Illinois State Board of EducaEon – Comprised primarily of classroom pracEEoners representaEve of the various social studies disciplines, grade bands, and geographic regions

Illinois Learning Standards • Previous standards knowledge heavy • Current standards focused on knowledge, agtudes (disposiEons), and pracEce (skills) • Civic mindedness, historical thinking, economic decision- making, geographic reasoning, and psychological and sociological intellect across all disciplines and grade levels • Two complementary categories: inquiry skills and disciplinary concepts – Inquiry skills involve quesEoning, invesEgaEng, reasoning, and responsible acEon – Disciplinary concepts make use of social science ideas, principles, and content to pursue answers to the quesEons generated by student inquiries

Active Civics Presented by Marshall Croddy President of Constitutional Rights Foundation

The Challenges for Civic Education Trends § Low rates of knowledge about government. § Low rates of trust in government: - national ranging 20% - state, 37%. § Low rates of trust in media.

Election 2016 Implications q High levels of partisanship/lack of opportunity and capacity to constructively discuss issues. q Disinformation, Fake News q Student inability to evaluate or analyze electronic media sources Library of Congress. Chicago : Illinois WPA Art Project, [between 1936 and 1940]

Addressing the Challenges q High Quality Civic/Social Studies Frameworks and Standards at the State Level - Civic learning across the grade spans - More coverage of state and local government - Opportunities for Participation q Adequate teacher professional development and curriculum to support best practices and methods

Promising Developments New Framework and Standards Models The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for the Social Studies - Inquiry-based - Integration of the four core social studies disciplines— civics, economics, geography and history. - A strong focus on concepts and skill development - Strongly linked to evaluating sources and utilizing evidence in drawing conclusions and taking action Research-based Proven Practices …

Active Civics (Not just civic content, but how it is taught) Active learning classroom strategies that can be utilized at all grade levels that emphasize knowledge development, critical thinking and presentation skills, and real world issues. Motivation. Relevance. Practice and development of skills and behaviors needed for effective and engaged adult citizen participation.