Using K–12 Schools to Promote Civic Engagement through Economic Literacy

The development of student civic engagement has featured in Indian educational policies for decades as a critical goal of schooling. However, the narrowness of the prescribed K-12 curricula, and the intense focus on competitive exams, do not support such an outcome. To overcome this problem, ABC School in India decided to pilot service-learning in its middle-school classroom. The idea was to assess the effects of such a program on students and the community’s welfare. Analysis of data from surveys, focus groups, and interviews showed that the service-learning project might have supported increased civic engagement in some students while also enhancing the welfare of the community served. No prior peer-reviewed empirical studies have been published on the nature and effects of service-learning at schools in India.

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Participatory Literacy and Taking Informed Action in the Social Studies

10.4018/978-1-6684-3706-3.ch061 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1125-1141

Author(s):

Casey Holmes ◽

Meghan McGlinn Manfra

Keyword(s):

Social Studies ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

School Setting ◽

Democratic Participation ◽

Civic Life ◽

College Career ◽

The Social ◽

Participatory Technologies ◽

Participatory Literacy ◽

K 12

The purpose of the social studies is to prepare students for life as citizens in a democratic society, and this requires attention to the variety of digital spaces inhabited by our K-12 students in today's increasingly digitized world. Incorporating participatory technologies into structured inquiries in the social studies may help develop students' skills and abilities in critically sourcing, evaluating, sharing, and creating media, and provides the opportunity for increasingly democratic participation and civic engagement both in and out of the school setting. In this chapter, the authors suggest the integration of participatory literacy with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) framework as a means of supporting students in taking informed action.

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Participatory Literacy and Taking Informed Action in the Social Studies

Participatory Literacy Practices for P-12 Classrooms in the Digital Age - Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0000-2.ch003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 40-56

Author(s):

Casey Holmes ◽

Meghan McGlinn Manfra

Keyword(s):

Social Studies ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

School Setting ◽

Democratic Participation ◽

Civic Life ◽

College Career ◽

The Social ◽

Participatory Technologies ◽

Participatory Literacy ◽

K 12

The purpose of the social studies is to prepare students for life as citizens in a democratic society, and this requires attention to the variety of digital spaces inhabited by our K-12 students in today's increasingly digitized world. Incorporating participatory technologies into structured inquiries in the social studies may help develop students' skills and abilities in critically sourcing, evaluating, sharing, and creating media, and provides the opportunity for increasingly democratic participation and civic engagement both in and out of the school setting. In this chapter, the authors suggest the integration of participatory literacy with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) framework as a means of supporting students in taking informed action.

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Pre-service teachers and religion

Social Studies Research and Practice ◽

10.1108/ssrp-05-2019-0030 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 192-200

Author(s):

Colton T. Ames

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Social Justice ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

Multicultural Education ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Curriculum And Instruction ◽

Teacher Educators ◽

Religious Studies ◽

Content Type ◽

K 12

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide teacher educators with a foundation for including religion in multicultural education classes. In doing so, they can foster more robust discussions of religion and its implications for equity and justice in K-12 classrooms. Design/methodology/approach This piece was adapted from the religion unit that the author designed for the multicultural education course, and is the combination of the author’s expertise in religious studies, and curriculum and instruction. Findings As a practice piece, this paper is meant to start discussions and reflections for teacher educators as to how we can better address religion when discussing multicultural education, and the implications of equity, diversity and social justice in the classroom. Originality/value The author hopes that this piece will contribute to a growing field of literature on how to foster discussions of religion in teacher education and K-12 classrooms. As a former religious studies educator, the author hopes to offer a perspective that combines the fields of curriculum and religious studies to create a more robust relationship that will foster democratic and civic engagement.

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Critically Literate Citizenship: Moments and Movements in Second Grade

Journal of Literacy Research ◽

10.1177/1086296x20939557 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 293-315 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Haeny S. Yoon

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

Critical Literacy ◽

Civic Education ◽

Social Action ◽

Second Graders ◽

Second Grade ◽

Civic Action ◽

Daily Lives ◽

K 12

With renewed emphasis on civic education in K–12 schools, educators and politicians call for young people to engage in civic action. Worth considering are the kinds of ideas taken up, the performances deemed critical enough, and actions recognized in schools as civic engagement. Drawing from a case study of second graders in New York City (NYC), I move away from hypervisible expressions of civic participation to show how children take up critical literacy and civic action through everyday, ordinary moments. Beyond public displays of social action, how do we build up critically literate citizens who question, disrupt, and engage civically in their daily lives? Highlighted throughout this article are children’s questions, inquiries, and tensions around diverse identities and practices (e.g., religion, race, gender, politics). In centering children’s political agendas, I argue that the production of civic engagement is lived out in the curricular, conversational, and playful moments leading up to social movements.

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2020 Teacher Candidate Voter Turnout: Implications for K-12 and Higher Education

Research in Educational Policy and Management ◽

10.46303/repam.2020.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 52-77

Author(s):

Hannah Jeffries ◽

William McCorkle

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

South Carolina ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

Civic Education ◽

Voter Turnout ◽

Teacher Candidates ◽

Low Levels ◽

K 12 ◽

National Trends ◽

Nature Of Teaching

This study centers on low youth voter (18-24) turnout nationally by examining a study of teacher candidates at a South Carolina public university. The study is useful to understanding the civic engagement of two important demographics: youth voters and future educators. As teacher candidates, the students tended to have weak civic education backgrounds and a lack of understanding of the inherently political nature of teaching. Paralleling national trends for youth, candidates showed low levels of voter turnout, a disconnect between accessing political information and making informed decisions, and a general cynicism towards electoral politics. The study was able to explore multiple important demographic differences in attitudes towards voting. The study also explored attitudes of practicing teachers towards civic engagement and the implications of these attitudes for K-12 and higher education.

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