Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Civic Education

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Civic Education

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/civic-education/#Oth

Civic education, whenever and however undertaken, prepares people of a country, especially the young, to carry out their roles as citizens. Civic education is, therefore, political education or, as Amy Gutmann describes it, “the cultivation of the virtues, knowledge, and skills necessary for political participation” (1987, 287). Of course, in some regimes political participation and therefore civic education can be limited or even negligible. Though commonly associated with schooling, civic education is not the exclusive domain of schools....READ MORE

Other Internet Resources

• Center for Civic Education, home of the educational programs “We the People” and “Project Citizen.”
• Center for Democracy and Citizenship, affiliated with the University of Minnesota and engaged in activist democracy through projects involving public work.
• CIRCLE or the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and based in Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, this center promotes research and projects on civic and political engagement of the young.
• Civic Mission of Schools, dedicated to reviving and enhancing civic education in the public schools.
• Close Up Foundation, which runs a Washington DC experiential learning program for middle-school and high-school students.
• Constitutional Rights Foundation, which focuses on educating America's youth about the importance of democratic participation.
• National Alliance for Civic Education, an alliance of over 200 groups and individuals committed to advancing civic knowledge and engagement and to helping citizens better understand the role and value of civic education.
• Public Achievement, a civic engagement initiative that seeks to involve the young in learning lessons of democracy by doing public work.