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Figure 1: A Framework for Twenty-First-Century Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Knowledge • Familiarity with key democratic texts and universal democratic principles, and with selected debates—in US and other societies—concerning their applications • Historical and sociological understanding of several democratic movements, both US and abroad • Understanding one’s sources of identity and their influence on civic values, assumptions, and responsibilities to a wider public • Knowledge of the diverse cultures, histories, values, and contestations that have shaped US and other world societies • Exposure to multiple religious traditions and to alternative views about the relation between religion and government • Knowledge of the political systems that frame constitutional democracies and of political levers for influencing change Skills • Critical inquiry, analysis, and reasoning • Quantitative reasoning • Gathering and evaluating multiple sources of evidence • Seeking, engaging, and being informed by multiple perspectives • Written, oral, and multi-media communication • Deliberation and bridge building across differences • Collaborative decision making • Ability to communicate in multiple languages Values • Respect for freedom and human dignity • Empathy • Open-mindedness • Tolerance • Justice • Equality • Ethical integrity • Responsibility to a larger good Collective Action • Integration of knowledge, skills, and examined values to inform actions taken in concert with other people • Moral discernment and behavior • Navigation of political systems and processes, both formal and informal • Public problem solving with diverse partners • Compromise, civility, and mutual respect By investing strategically to educate students fully along the four-part civic continuum, higher education can ignite a widespread civic renewal in America. When deep learning about complex questions with public consequence is coupled with college students’ energies and commitments, democratic culture is reinvigorated. Despite the label of disengagement often pinned to their T-shirts by others, evidence suggests a majority of the current generation of young people care deeply about public issues. True, many are alienated by uncritically partisan debate among the politicians and the polity, by corporate influence over policy making, and by ineffcient government processes; yet, a significant portion of college students are interested in community service that leads to systemic social and political change. They also want to have more meaningful opportunities to discuss and address public issues (Kiesa et al. 2007). In reshaping the college experience, we need to capitalize on the yearning, the inclination, and the commitments of such students. In a 2009 survey of entering college students undertaken by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), 35.8 percent responded that “becoming a community leader” was “essential” or “very important” and reported showing more commitment to treating each other as equal citizens 4
when compared with older generations (Pryor et al. 2009, 40). Moreover, students in ever-increasing numbers are flocking to civic engagement opportunities in college—often spurred by volunteer work in the year before entering college. In the same survey, 85.3 percent of entering first-year students reported that they “performed volunteer work” “frequently” or “occasionally” as high school seniors (Pryor et al. 2009, 11). Participation in service is high in the college years as well: according to 2010 HERI data on college seniors, 8 in 10 seniors reported being engaged in some form of community service during college (DeAngelo, pers. comm.). In a national survey using the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (PSRI), which was conducted by the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, data from twenty-four thousand students at twenty-three diverse colleges, universities, community colleges, and military academies indicate that students want their colleges to foster a stronger institutional emphasis on contributing to the larger community. Moreover, the longer the students stay in college, the wider the gap becomes between their endorsement of social responsibility as a goal of college and their assessment of whether the institution provides opportunities for growth in this area (see fig. 2; Dey et al. 2009). Students’ assessment of whether their campus valued and promoted contributing to the larger community declined from first to senior year. In addition, while 44.8 percent of first-year students strongly agreed that their campus actively promoted awareness of US social, political, and economic issues, only 34.3 percent of seniors strongly agreed with this statement. There was an even more striking discrepancy in the global arena: among first-year students, 43.3 percent strongly agreed that their campus actively promoted awareness of global social, political, and economic issues, but only half that amount—22.9 percent—of seniors strongly agreed with this statement (Dey et al. 2009, 4–8). As A Crucible Moment emphasizes, community service is not necessarily the same as democratic engagement with others across differences to collectively solve public problems. Nor does service always establish a reciprocal partnership or lead to an analysis of systemic causes of a given issue. But service can be, and often is, the first step toward a more fully developed set The longer the students stay in college, the wider the gap becomes between their endorsement of social responsibility as a goal of the college and their assessment of whether the institution provides opportunities for growth in this area. Figure 2: Student Views on the Importance of Contributing to the Larger Community Percentages of students who strongly agree that contributing to community “should be” a major focus of college and “is” a major focus of college, by year in school. 55% 45% 57% 42% Source: Data from Dey et al. (2009). FIRST YEAR SOPHOMORE 58% JUNIOR 41% 59% SENIOR 38% “Should be” “Is” A CRUCIBLE MOMENT: College Learning & Democracy’s Future 5
Page 1: a national call to action A CruCibl
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Page 9 and 10: the Catalysts for Producing A Cruci
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DQP says that, at all degree levels
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students’ self-effcacy and politi
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learning, aimed at active participa
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Engberg and Fox (2011) links involv
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focused pedagogy for its Community
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perspectives becomes the norm; defi
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excellence to ideas, problems, and
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eferences W AACC (American Associat
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Colby, Anne, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizab
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University of Oslo; and the Europea
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NCES (National Center for Education
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Snyder, Thomas D., and Sally A. Dil
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Phase II: In-depth assessment and l
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COMPLETING THE MATRIx As a group, m
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Civic Investment Plan Template for
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APPEnDIx C: Civic learning and Demo
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Gail Jessen, Director, Thayne Cente
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Paul Petrequin, Residential Faculty
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Mary Kirchhoff, Director, Education
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active, involved citizens in their
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Association for Integrative Studies
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issues, civic involvement, and how
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facilitators to guide the process;
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The Democracy Imperative http://www
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to strengthen an international comm
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Modern Language Association of Amer
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National Women’s Studies Associat
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citizens. Public Agenda pursues thi
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About AAC&U The Association of Amer
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