Dive Brief:
- Most district leaders report civics education being part of a required course in their school system, but opportunities for students to put that knowledge into practice through volunteering or other forms of community engagement are fewer and further between, according to research from Rand Corp. and the Center for Reinventing Public Education.
- The researchers found that while 90% of districts embed civics in a required class, only 35% offer experiential civics opportunities, and just 13% mandate the latter. Additionally, only 13% of districts require professional development on teaching or guiding discussion on controversial subjects in civics.
- While 68% of district leaders reported offering extracurricular civics opportunities and 61% said their district offers optional community service or volunteering opportunities, only 23% required students to engage in community service or volunteering.
Dive Insight:
Lisa Chu, research analyst at CRPE and coauthor of the report, said she was surprised and heartened to hear that 90% of districts embedded civics education in a required class. While the percentage of districts that provide or mandate civics opportunities in the community wasn’t so surprising, Chu said, many of the district leaders she interviewed said they hope to do more in that regard.
The professional development needed to do so, along with greater access to resources that align with civic learning goals, could help bring about a necessary “mindset shift” for teachers, Chu said.
“Making time for things like experiential learning activities and a shift to student-led civic learning projects” would be the ideal outcome of that professional learning, she said. “It’s a whole other side of professional learning.”
Another challenge facing schools and districts is pulling together and organizing the transportation resources to offer experiential opportunities, Chu said.
“That comes up a lot,” she said. “Accomplishing hands-on activities like going to visit your local courthouse or state capitol, even if it’s in the same city — it’s pretty hard to get the transportation and to fit it into the instructional calendar or schedule and make time for it.”
Chu recommends that schools and districts start with taking a snapshot of what they currently offer in terms of civic learning. “Are these consistent across classrooms and across students? Are they aligned with each other?” she asked. “Are there opportunities beyond learning about civic knowledge, and facts, to do hands-on experiences?”
After taking stock of those factors, schools and districts should examine how they’re supporting teachers with training, resources and materials, Chu said.
“What do they currently have?” she asked. “How do they get there from here, thinking about what their goals are in terms of civic learning and how do they bridge the gap?”
