Developing Civic Mindedness

Young Children’s Civic Mindedness provides a well-grounded understanding of children’s civic thought and action by inviting readers to look and listen carefully to the voices of young children themselves. Grounded in research on children’s evolving civic identities and drawn from extended case studies and rich narrative vignettes, this book shows the many ways even the youngest children can be civic-minded and political. The book engages readers in thinking about the many ways children reason about and approach civic problems; how children’s experience in various local and larger contexts shapes their thinking and action; and the environmental factors that delimit what children see as possible in civic spaces. Written for early childhood, elementary and civic educators, this book encourages readers to go beyond mere rhetoric on the importance of civic education, to develop improved ways of teaching for children’s civic development.

Imagined at their best, how might professions contribute most effectively to their local and global communities, and how could higher education support graduates/future professionals in making this contribution? The answer proposed in this book is to educate students for ‘civic-mindedness’, an overarching professional capability grounded in certain dispositions and qualities, ideals, types of knowledge and political emotions. ‘Civic-mindedness’, and its internal counterpart, the practitioner’s self-cultivation, give rise to an engagement with professional practice that is authentic, civic and democratic. The tension between responsiveness or regard for others and regard for self is overcome by recognising that authentic professional identities are constructed through practices around shared purposes and ideals. Drawing on a wide range of theorists including Dewey, Arendt, and Nussbaum, professions are envisaged to play a vital role. Primarily professions support society’s well-being by ensuring access to public goods, such as local and global justice, access to information, health, education, safety, housing, the beauty and sustaining power of the ecological environment, among others. Yet professions also protect the fundamental good of citizen participation in free deliberation and decision-making on issues affecting their lives. The book concludes with a vision of higher education that is transformative of graduates/professionals, pedagogies, professional practices and communities. Issues of increasing social awareness are a key concern for anyone involved in teaching professionals and this book, which builds best practice around a sound theoretical and philosophical framework, will prove both thought-provoking and practical in application.

"Declining civic engagement has been cited as an impediment to effective participatory democracy (Niemi & Junn, 1998; Putnam, 2000). After nearly twenty years of dedicated efforts and resources, American colleges and universities continue to struggle to reconcile their responsibilities between educating students for active roles in society and preparing students for employment. Twenge, Campbell, and Freeman (p.1060, 2012) found a considerable intellectual, cultural, and economic interest in discovering and predicting generational trends. They recognized that the decrease in civic engagement has generated concerns amongst educators, researchers, and community stakeholders that students and citizens over time will not develop sufficient disposition for Civic-mindedness ... This mixed-methods study, utilizing descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis, sought to examine the perceived significance of the collaboration between a Jesuit university and its community stakeholders, to co-create experiences that form Civic-mindedness (Steinberg et al., 2011)"--Abstract

In this comprehensive response to the education crisis, the author of Teaching as a Subversive Activity returns to the subject that established his reputation as one of our most insightful social critics. Postman presents useful models with which schools can restore a sense of purpose, tolerance, and a respect for learning.

Civic Education Across the Curriculum offers faculty in all disciplines rationales and resources for connecting their service-learning efforts to the broader goals of civic engagement. Campuses promoting engagement are beginning to tie service-learning practices to their civic mission of preparing students for participation in a diverse, democratic society. There are, however, few resources for faculty—especially those in fields not traditionally linked with civic education—to think about how civic engagement might be incorporated into their own disciplinary perspectives and course goals. This volume distills a wide range of disciplinary perspectives on citizenship into usable conceptual frameworks. It provides concrete examples of course materials, exercises, and assignments that can be used in service-learning courses to develop students’ civic capacities, regardless of disciplinary area. This volume will assist faculty in their own curricular work as well as enable them to combine their individual initiatives with others across their campus.

This volume brings together selected articles published in University World News (UWN) and International Higher Education (IHE) between 2011 and 2016. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners alike further the development of higher education as a field of study through public and ongoing conversations. It is news, analysis, and commentary publications like UWN and IHE that facilitate this dialogue and keep pace with the most up-to-date developments in the field. Together, the articles included in this volume—alongside the section introductions—offer a rich and relevant picture of the dynamic state of higher education globally. While both publications are freely available online, this book provides a thematically coherent selection of articles, offering an accessible and analytic perspective on the pressing concerns of contemporary higher education.

"The term "civic-mindedness" is broad, but it relates to specific experiences and behaviors we, as citizens and members of communities across the country, live out in our daily lives. But what does the term's definition boil down to? I conducted a study to complete my thesis for the Butler University Honors Program, starting with the question: how is "civic-mindedness" defined in our culture and in what ways do the arts, specifically, impact an individual's development of civic-mindedness? To answer this question, I focused on the dual mission statement of the Butler Community Arts School (BCAS), which reads, "...providing quality arts instruction at an affordable price while also developing community involvement and civic-mindedness in Butler University students." I surveyed former and current BCAS Teaching Fellows (undergraduate students who teach BCAS lessons) to find how their personal experiences impacted their development of civic-mindedness, allowing them to define the term first for themselves and then to read this definition: civic-mindedness is actions, activities, or individuals that are motivated by or that show concern for the public good or humanity as a whole. In addition, I surveyed other Butler University music students to compare their perceived development of civic-mindedness as an undergraduate, separate from those students who are also Teaching Fellows. I combined the results of my thesis with on-camera interviews to create a short documentary. This media project allowed me the opportunity to blend all of the various components of my thesis into one final, visual product"--Provided by author.

Young adulthood - ages approximately 18 to 26 - is a critical period of development with long-lasting implications for a person's economic security, health and well-being. Young adults are key contributors to the nation's workforce and military services and, since many are parents, to the healthy development of the next generation. Although 'millennials' have received attention in the popular media in recent years, young adults are too rarely treated as a distinct population in policy, programs, and research. Instead, they are often grouped with adolescents or, more often, with all adults. Currently, the nation is experiencing economic restructuring, widening inequality, a rapidly rising ratio of older adults, and an increasingly diverse population. The possible transformative effects of these features make focus on young adults especially important. A systematic approach to understanding and responding to the unique circumstances and needs of today's young adults can help to pave the way to a more productive and equitable tomorrow for young adults in particular and our society at large. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults describes what is meant by the term young adulthood, who young adults are, what they are doing, and what they need. This study recommends actions that nonprofit programs and federal, state, and local agencies can take to help young adults make a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. According to this report, young adults should be considered as a separate group from adolescents and older adults. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults makes the case that increased efforts to improve high school and college graduate rates and education and workforce development systems that are more closely tied to high-demand economic sectors will help this age group achieve greater opportunity and success. The report also discusses the health status of young adults and makes recommendations to develop evidence-based practices for young adults for medical and behavioral health, including preventions. What happens during the young adult years has profound implications for the rest of the life course, and the stability and progress of society at large depends on how any cohort of young adults fares as a whole. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults will provide a roadmap to improving outcomes for this age group as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.