Democracy for Homework: A Review of Civic Engagement in Urban Public Schools

Civic engagement education prepares students to actively engage in social and political processes and influence community change. Many educators believe that civic engagement ought to be a central mission of schools because: 1. Adolescent civic engagement predicts adult civic engagement; 2. Schools may be able to reduce the inequity in political participation between individuals of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and 3: Civic engagement orientation and competencies can be developed through any and all content courses and extracurricular opportunities. This literature review on civic engagement education in urban public middle and high schools over the past 15 years explores: 1. Theories and approaches to civic engagement education; 2. Current challenges facing civic engagement education; and 3. Insight into the efficacy of current civic engagement education curricula and pedagogy, based on research findings. Further research into predictors and outcomes of civic engagement is needed due to significant limitations that exist. Very few overarching models exist that describe what inputs influence and what outcomes result from youth civic engagement. A new model is offered in this thesis that can guide future development and implementation of civic engagement curriculum, teacher training, and environment