Educating for Democracy: Preparing Undergraduates for Responsible Political Engagement » (1st Edition)

The Authors

Anne Colby is a senior scholar at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Elizabeth Beaumont is assistant professor of political science at the University of Minnesota.

Thomas Ehrlich is a senior scholar at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Josh Corngold is a doctoral student in the philosophy of education at Stanford University.

Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich, and Elizabeth Beaumont, along with Jason Stephens, are the coauthors of Educating Citizens, published by Jossey-Bass in 2003.

Educating for Democracy

Most educators recognize the importance of preparing students for responsible citizenship. But how can academic institutions educate for political understanding and engagement when there is so much material to cover, so many intellectual skills and capacities to build, and so little time to accomplish these goals?

Educating for Democracy reports the results of the Political Engagement Project, a study of educational practices at the college level that prepare students for responsible democratic participation. In this book, coauthors Anne Colby, Elizabeth Beaumont, Thomas Ehrlich, and Josh Corngold show that education for political development can increase students' political understanding, skill, motivation, and involvement while contributing to many aspects of general academic learning.

Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data from the Political Engagement Project, Educating for Democracy articulates what it means to teach effectively for political learning without imposing particular ideologies on students. The book presents the authors' well-reasoned argument for the importance of educating for democratic participation and offers practical and much-needed guidelines for faculty and administrators who want to help their students become more fully engaged in political life.

Educating for Democracy suggests five pedagogical strategies that have proven to be effective for supporting college students' political development including political discussion and deliberation, political research and action projects, invited speakers and program-affiliated mentors, external placements, and structured reflection. These teaching strategies can be specifically tailored for courses in many disciplines, supporting both political learning and other substantive goals of the course. In addition, the book contains practical advice on how to increase the likelihood that the political learning achieved in college will last beyond graduation.

Foreword     ix
Preface     xv
The Authors     xix
Introduction     1
Citizenship, Politics, and Civic Engagement     25
The Role of Higher Education in Preparing Citizens     44
The Open Inquiry Imperative     60
Creating Environments of Open Inquiry     77
Teaching for Political Knowledge and Understanding     108
Teaching Democratic Participation Skills     121
Fostering Political Motivation     139
Learning Through Discussion and Deliberation     156
Learning Through Political Research and Action Projects     175
Learning Through Speakers and Mentors     198
Learning Through Placements, Internships, and Service Learning     222
Learning Through Structured Reflection     250
Putting the Pieces Together     276
Course and Program Summaries     299
Survey Scales and Results     315
References     329
Index     347