CIVITAS@PRAGUE/1995 Viewed from Afar: A New Meaning for "World-Class Standards" in Education. Working Papers in Education, ED-95-3.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper describes the importance of the CIVITAS@Prague meeting in June 1995. The conference provided a much-needed look at the role of education in the future of world peace. This international conference of educators is likely to affect world history in the obvious ways that international meetings of diplomatic, military, or financial leaders do since it underscores the role that civic education can play in promoting democracy and peace in the world. Explanations are given about the significance of the term "civitas" and of the location of the meeting in Prague (Czechoslovakia). The paper explores the contributions of the National Standards for Civics and Government, and its predecessor volume: "CIVITAS: A Framework for Civic Education." The organizing questions and topics needed in civics education courses and how undergraduate education needs to address the need for civic education at the university level also are examined. (EH)