3 of 29

AI on Civics Education

Chat GPT

Civics education is the study of how government works, what rights and responsibilities citizens have, and how people participate in public life. It’s about understanding not just laws and institutions, but also how to actively engage in a democracy.

Deep Seek

Civics education is the study of the theoretical, political, and practical aspects of citizenship, as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the functions of government. It’s the process of equipping individuals with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to participate effectively in a democratic society.

Grok

Civics education teaches people how democratic governments work, citizens' rights and responsibilities, and how to participate effectively in society. It covers government structures, history, constitutional principles, civic skills (like critical thinking and deliberation), and dispositions (such as tolerance and civic duty)

4 of 29

Views from the Past

Three Approaches From the Past

5 of 29

Noah Webster

Civics Education promotes a sense of national identity

“…every child in America should be acquainted with his own country…As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country.”

(On the Education of Youth in America, 1788)

“Cultural Nationalism” (Diane Ravitch)

6 of 29

2. Thomas Jefferson

Civics Education is best defence against the tyranny of government

Educated youth can better protect freedom

“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”

(1789, Letter to Richard Price).

7 of 29

3. John Dewey

Published Democracy and Education in response to the Industrial Education Movement

Too closely tracking reproduces inequalities and foolishly chases industrial change

“A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience.” (Democracy and Education, 1916)

8 of 29

Civic Education Reductions

Webster

Social Control

Shaping Identity

Jefferson

Intellectual arms against tyranny

Key to democracy

Dewey

Education produces contacts. Contacts produce share experiences. Shared experiences produce democracy

9 of 29

The Civic Empowerment Gap

Three Approaches From the Past

10 of 29

Civic Empowerment Gap

In 2012, Meira Levinson published the book, No Citizen Left Behind in which she explored the

“Civic Engagement Gap” between herself, a public school teacher, and her students.

11 of 29

Levinson on Civic Empowerment Gap

Persistent gap in civic political knowledge, skills, attitudes, participation, and impact/power between those whose are middle-class or wealthy, well educated White and natural born citizens, on the one-hand and those who are low income, nit in possession ofa college degree, members of ethnoracial minority groups, and naturalized citizens or non-citizens, on the other.

12 of 29

One Key - Missing Institutions

Trade Unions

Fraternal Organizations

Political Parties

13 of 29

Levinson on Teaching Civics

“People’s capacities for civic empowerment are simply greater if they know about political structures and institutions as well as contemporary policies than if they don’t.”

14 of 29

More Recent Developments

15 of 29

America First Policy Institute - America 250

New Patriotic Civics

17 of 29

Re-Thinking Citizenship - New Civics

18 of 29

Questions

What are the new institutions - beyond the government - that could support this new civics?

What are the cultural norms that are being questioned by this new civics?

What are the roles of educators - especially in non-traditional settings - in supporting this new civics?

19 of 29

The Role of Teachers

20 of 29

What and How to Teach?

Participatory Learning

Knowledge Acquisition

2025

21 of 29

What and How to Teach?

Kemper and Janmaat found that:

Participatory learning and knowledge acquisition were often at odds in civics education
Schools that gave tests favored knowledge acquisition
Those concerned with developing engaged citizens relied on the participatory model

22 of 29

An Interesting Note from Australia…

In a 2015 article, Keith Heggart documented a shift from a top-down Discovering Democracy curriculum to a more bottom up Justice Citizens curriculum led to an improvement in civic engagement.

23 of 29

Heggart’s study suggests:

Civic engagement might improve WITHOUT direct civics education.

Justice Citizens encouraged young people to video document a social problem in their lives. This led to greater civic participation and learning.

Can features of Justice Citizens - local engagement, open discussions, student presentations…by incorporated into a knowledge acquisition process?

24 of 29

Challenges

Does Civics Education attempt to justify a disfunctional Government? Extreme skepticism and “lack of trust” - rational given experiences.
Is Civics Education about social change or is it about cultivating a national identity?
Adult Education programs naturally - standardized tests - focus on knowledge acquisition. What role can participatory learning have?
Where is Civics located? Are there other topics that could serve to reduce the civic empowerment gap? Science? Math? RLA?

25 of 29

Resources

Civic Learning Institute

https://www.civiclearninginstitute.org/

America First Policy Institute

https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/

Gilder Lehrman Institute - American Revolution Documents

Research | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

26 of 29

Next Steps…

Appoint someone as the note-taker of your group
Please read the document of your work group
While you are reading please consider the following questions:

How would my students read and understand this?
How would I teach this?
What questions do I have for this document? What questions might my students have?

1 of 29

2 of 29