Improving Civic Education in Schools. ERIC Digest.

Overview & Synopsis

Civic education is the teaching of knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to become a responsible and effective citizen of a representative and constitutional democracy. Although civic education has been part of the core curriculum of elementary and secondary schools since the founding of the United States, in recent years leaders in education, government, and the general public have expressed concerns about the quality and outcomes of civic education in U.S. schools. They have called emphatically for the renewal and reform of civic education in schools. This digest discusses (1) the current deficiencies of civic education in schools; (2) research-based recommendations for improving content and pedagogy of civic education; and (3) Internet resources on improving civic education in schools. (Contains a list of 12 references and ERIC resources.) (BT)