Teaching Democracy: What Schools Need to Do

Phi Delta Kappan

Volumn 85, Issue 1, 2003, Pages

  Kahne, Joseph ^a   Westheimer, Joel ^b  

^a MILLS COLLEGE   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0141976198     PISSN: 00317217     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/003172170308500109     Document Type: Review

References (42)

1. U.S. Department of Education Budget, available at www.ed.gov/offices/ OUS/Budget04/04app.pdf
2. This article is one of a set of articles reporting on a study of programs that aimed to promote democratic values and effective citizenry. For an analysis of the politics that underlie different conceptions of citizenship, see Joel Westheimer and Joseph Kahne, "What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy," 2003 joelw@uottawa.ca. For our findings on the role of efficacy and the limits of deliberately structuring programs to be successful, see Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer, "The Limits of Efficacy: Education for a Democratic Society," in Beth Rubin and James Ciarelli, eds., Social Studies for a New Millennium: ReEnvisioning Civic Education for a Changing World (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, forthcoming). For a discussion of neutrality and indoctrination, see Joel Westheimer and Joe Kahne, "Teaching Justice: Indoctrination, Neutrality, and the Need for Alternatives," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 2003.
3. This article is one of a set of articles reporting on a study of programs that aimed to promote democratic values and effective citizenry. For an analysis of the politics that underlie different conceptions of citizenship, see Joel Westheimer and Joseph Kahne, "What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy," 2003 joelw@uottawa.ca. For our findings on the role of efficacy and the limits of deliberately structuring programs to be successful, see Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer, "The Limits of Efficacy: Education for a Democratic Society," in Beth Rubin and James Ciarelli, eds., Social Studies for a New Millennium: ReEnvisioning Civic Education for a Changing World (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, forthcoming). For a discussion of neutrality and indoctrination, see Joel Westheimer and Joe Kahne, "Teaching Justice: Indoctrination, Neutrality, and the Need for Alternatives," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 2003.
4. This article is one of a set of articles reporting on a study of programs that aimed to promote democratic values and effective citizenry. For an analysis of the politics that underlie different conceptions of citizenship, see Joel Westheimer and Joseph Kahne, "What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy," 2003 joelw@uottawa.ca For our findings on the role of efficacy and the limits of deliberately structuring programs to be successful, see Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer, "The Limits of Efficacy: Education for a Democratic Society," in Beth Rubin and James Ciarelli, eds., Social Studies for a New Millennium: ReEnvisioning Civic Education for a Changing World (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, forthcoming). For a discussion of neutrality and indoctrination, see Joel Westheimer and Joe Kahne, "Teaching Justice: Indoctrination, Neutrality, and the Need for Alternatives," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 2003.
5. Robert L Dudley and Alan R. Gitelson, "Political Literacy, Civic Education, and Civic Engagement: A Return to Political Socialization?," Applied Developmental Science, vol. 6, 2000, pp. 175-82.
6. Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone:The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), p. 41.
7. Oliver Thomas, The Real Coke, The Real Story (New York: Random House, 1990), pp. 155, 157.
8. Martha Paskoff, "Idol Worship: What American Politics Can Learn from American idol," American Prospect Online, 23 May 2003.
9. Character Counts! (Los Angeles: Character Counts Coalition, 1996).
10. "Mission Statement," Points of Light Foundation, May 2003, www. pointsoflight.org.
11. Cited in Tony Robinson, "Dare the School Build a New Social Order?," Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Fall 2000, p. 145.
12. Kathryn H. Porter, Kathy Larin, and Wendell Primus, Social Security and Poverty Among the Elderly: A National and State Perspective (Washington, D.C.: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1999).
13. For a critique of character education programs along these lines, see Alfie Kohn, "How Not to Teach Values: A Critical Look at Character Education," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1997, pp. 428-39. For an analysis of the job market and its disconnect from character-building programs of job training, see Gordon Lafer, The Job Training Charade (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2002).
14. For a critique of character education programs along these lines, see Alfie Kohn, "How Not to Teach Values: A Critical Look at Character Education," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1997, pp. 428-39. For an analysis of the job market and its disconnect from character-building programs of job training, see Gordon Lafer, The Job Training Charade (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2002).
15. Harry C. Boyte, "Community Service and Civic Education," Phi Delta Kappan, June 1991, p. 766.
16. National Association of Secretaries of State, New Millennium Project - Phase I: A Nationwide Study of 15-24-Year-Old Youth (Alexandria, Va.: Tarrance Group, 1999).
17. For a well-conceived description of goals for civic education, see Cynthia Gibson and Peter Levine, The Civic Mission of Schools (New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, 2003), p. 4; for a description of the complexities of pursuing democratic goals amidst diversity, see Walter Parker, Teaching Democracy: Unity and Diversity in Public Life (New York: Teachers College Press, 2003).
18. For a well-conceived description of goals for civic education, see Cynthia Gibson and Peter Levine, The Civic Mission of Schools (New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, 2003), p. 4; for a description of the complexities of pursuing democratic goals amidst diversity, see Walter Parker, Teaching Democracy: Unity and Diversity in Public Life (New York: Teachers College Press, 2003).
19. The Overground Railroad/Agora Project was a collaboration between six private colleges in Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio, with Berea (Ky.) College and the College of St. Catherine coordinating. The colleges came together in an effort to create opportunities for students that promote democracy and public works. The students receive college credit through their participation.
20. See Myles Horton, The Long Haul: An Autobiography (New York: Teachers College Press, 1997).
21. For detailed findings, see Westheimer and Kahne, "What Kind of Citizen."
22. For a related quantitative study that comes to similar conclusions, see Joseph Kahne, Bernadette Chi, and Ellen Middaugh, "Democratic Education: The Untapped Potential of High School Government Courses," unpublished paper, 2003. Please contact contactjkahne@mills.edu for copies.
23. For a review, see Gibson and Levine, op. cit. See also Shelley H. Billig, "Research on School-Based Service-Learning: The Evidence Builds," Phi Delta Kappan, May 2000, pp. 658-64; and Judith Torney-Purta, "The School's Role in Developing Civic Engagement: A Study of Adolescents in Twenty-Eight Countries," Applied Developmental Science, vol. 6, 2002, pp. 203-12.
24. For a review, see Gibson and Levine, op. cit. See also Shelley H. Billig, "Research on School-Based Service-Learning: The Evidence Builds," Phi Delta Kappan, May 2000, pp. 658-64; and Judith Torney-Purta, "The School's Role in Developing Civic Engagement: A Study of Adolescents in Twenty-Eight Countries," Applied Developmental Science, vol. 6, 2002, pp. 203-12.
25. For a review, see Gibson and Levine, op. cit. See also Shelley H. Billig, "Research on School-Based Service-Learning: The Evidence Builds," Phi Delta Kappan, May 2000, pp. 658-64; and Judith Torney-Purta, "The School's Role in Developing Civic Engagement: A Study of Adolescents in Twenty-Eight Countries," Applied Developmental Science, vol. 6, 2002, pp. 203-12.
26. Kahne, Chi, and Middaugh, op. cit.
27. Gibson and Levine, op. cit.
28. For an up-close example of this process in a high school social studies class that explicitly taught students how to discuss and debate controversial social issues, see Diana Hess and Julie Posselt, "How High School Students Experience and Learn from the Discussion of Controversial Public Issues," Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, Summer 2002, pp. 283-314.
29. Harold Rugg, "That Men May Understand," in Melinda Fine, ed., Habits of Mind: Struggling over Values in America's Classrooms (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995), p. 171.
30. John Dewey, Moral Principles in Education (1909; reprint, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1975), p. 41.
31. See Kahne and Westheimer, op. cit.
32. Anthony D. Lutkus et al., The NAEP 7 998 Civics Report Card for the Nation (Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, NCES 2000-457, 1999).
33. Indeed, despite the importance of social relations in democratic action, school textbooks and curricula most often turn the history of collective efforts into myths about individual heroes. See, for example, Herb Kohl's comparison of the Rosa Parks story as told in children's history textbooks with the history recognized by historians and by Parks herself. Herbert Kohl, Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories (New York: New Press, 1995).
34. See Shelly Berman, Children's Social Consciousness and the Development of Social Responsibility (New York: State University of New York Press, 1997).
35. See Susan Ohanian, One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1999); and idem, "Goals 2000: What's in a Name?," Phi Delta Kappan, January 2000, pp. 345-55.
36. See Susan Ohanian, One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1999); and idem, "Goals 2000: What's in a Name?," Phi Delta Kappan, January 2000, pp. 345-55.
37. See, for example, Bill Ayers et al., eds., Teaching for Social Justice: A Democracy and Education Reader (New York: New Press, 1998); E. Wayne Ross, "Remaking the Social Studies," in idem, ed., The Social Studies Curriculum: Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities (New Paltz, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 2001 ), pp. 313-27; and David W. Hursh and E. Wayne Ross, eds., Democratic Social Education: Social Studies for Social Change (New York: Falmer, 2000).
38. See, for example, Bill Ayers et al., eds., Teaching for Social Justice: A Democracy and Education Reader (New York: New Press, 1998); E. Wayne Ross, "Remaking the Social Studies," in idem, ed., The Social Studies Curriculum: Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities (New Paltz, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 2001 ), pp. 313-27; and David W. Hursh and E. Wayne Ross, eds., Democratic Social Education: Social Studies for Social Change (New York: Falmer, 2000).
39. See, for example, Bill Ayers et al., eds., Teaching for Social Justice: A Democracy and Education Reader (New York: New Press, 1998); E. Wayne Ross, "Remaking the Social Studies," in idem, ed., The Social Studies Curriculum: Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities (New Paltz, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 2001 ), pp. 313-27; and David W. Hursh and E. Wayne Ross, eds., Democratic Social Education: Social Studies for Social Change (New York: Falmer, 2000).
40. See, for example, Robert S. Leming, "An Evaluation of the Instructional Effects of We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution Program Using 'with Liberty and Justice for all,'" Social Studies Development Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1993; and Kahne, Chi, and Middaugh, op. cit.
41. See, for example, Robert S. Leming, "An Evaluation of the Instructional Effects of We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution Program Using 'with Liberty and Justice for all,'" Social Studies Development Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1993; and Kahne, Chi, and Middaugh, op. cit.
42. Kenneth Holdsman, unpublished paper, 24 February 2003.