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A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future

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A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future a national call to action A CRUCIBLE MOMENT W College Learning & Democracy’s Future F f The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement a national call to action A CRUCIBLE MOMENT W College Learning & Democracy’s Future F F The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the US Department of Education under contract number ED-OPE-10-C-0078. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the US Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise—without constraint. 1818 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Suggested Citation: The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. 2012. A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. ISBN 978-0-9827850-5-8 To download a copy of this report, see www.aacu.org/civiclearning/crucible. To order additional copies of this publication, visit www.aacu.org, email [email protected], or call 202.387.3760. Table of Contents W Foreword Martha Kanter and Eduardo Ochoa, US Department of Education . .v For Democracy’s Future: Five Essential Actions from the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement ................vi The Catalysts for ProducingA Crucible Moment and Its National Call to Action .......................................... vii National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Members ......................................ix Acknowledgments ......................................................xi I. Why Education for Democratic Citizenship Matters ...................1 II. Crucible Moments of Civic Learning: Then and Now .................17 III. Education for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century: A National Call to Action ...........................................25 IV. Trailblazers for Civic Learning: From Periphery to Pervasiveness ......41 V. A Foundation Partially Laid: Pathways to Democratic Engagement .....51 VI. Conclusion ........................................................69 References ............................................................ 71 Appendix A: Civic Investment Plan Templates ..........................81 Appendix B: Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Project Staff ... 87 Appendix C: Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement National Roundtables: Participant List ........................................... 89 Appendix D: Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement National Roundtables: Participating Organizations ............................... 97 A CRUCIBLE MOMENT: College Learning & Democracy’s Future iii Foreword W “A socially cohesive and economically vibrant US democracy…require[s] informed, engaged, open-minded, and socially responsible people committed to the common good and practiced in ‘doing’ democracy…. Civic learning needs to be an integral component of every level of education, from grade school through graduate school, across all fields of study.” Excerpt from A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future The overarching education goal for the Obama administration is to once again lead the world in the proportion of college graduates by 2020. In this context, we hope this report sparks a national conversation and call to action about how institutions of higher learning can embrace and act on their long-standing mission to educate students for informed, engaged citizenship—an essential quality for all graduates. The completion of postsecondary education and the acquisition of twenty-first-century critical thinking skills in the liberal arts and sciences are an economic necessity as well as a social imperative. To fulfill America’s promise in our global society, our education system at all levels, from early learning through higher education, must serve our nation both as its economic engine and its wellspring for democracy. This report from the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement finds that civic learning and learning in traditional academic disciplines are complementary, rather than competitive. The report points to research findings that suggest that students who participate in civic learning opportunities are more likely to • persist in college and complete their degrees; • obtain skills prized by employers; and • develop habits of social responsibility and civic participation. We would like to see further research explore these connections. In the months ahead, the US Department of Education will analyze the recommendations advanced in A Crucible Moment and identify actions we can take. For now, we want to express our gratitude to the National Task Force, and the many individuals and organizations who contributed to this ambitious project, for their work and their commitment to educating students as citizens for the twenty-first century. Together we must advance a civic learning and democratic engagement agenda worthy of our great nation. Sincerely, Martha Kanter Eduardo Ochoa Under Secretary Assistant Secretary for US Department of Education Postsecondary Education US Department of Education A CRUCIBLE MOMENT: College Learning & Democracy’s Future v For Democracy’s Future: Five Essential Actions From The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement 1. Reclaim and reinvest in the fundamental civic and democratic mission of schools and of all sectors within higher education. 2. Enlarge the current national narrative that erases civic aims and civic literacy as educational priorities contributing to social, intellectual, and economic capital. 3. Advance a contemporary, comprehensive framework for civic learning—embracing US and global interdependence— that includes historic and modern understandings of democratic values, capacities to engage diverse perspectives and people, and commitment to collective civic problem solving. 4. Capitalize upon the interdependent responsibilities of K–12 and higher education to foster progressively higher levels of civic knowledge, skills, examined values, and action as expectations for every student. 5. Expand the number of robust, generative civic partnerships and alliances, locally, nationally, and globally to address common problems, empower people to act, strengthen communities and nations, and generate new frontiers of knowledge. See Chapter III for the entire set of recommendations in the National Call to Action. vi The Catalysts for Producing A Crucible Moment and Its National Call to Action W A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future was written at the invitation of the US Department of Education, which awarded a contract to the Global Perspective Institute, Inc. (GPI) and a subcontract to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to lead a national dialogue that would result in recommendations about strengthening students’ civic learning and democratic engagement as a core component of college study. GPI and AAC&U then formed a National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, whose members collectively have been involved in virtually all aspects of the civic renewal effort that is already underway in many parts of higher education. Our work was ably led by GPI President Larry A. Braskamp and AAC&U Senior Vice President Caryn McTighe Musil, who organized and guided the year-long national dialogue and analysis through which A Crucible Moment was framed. The charge given us as a National Task Force was to assess the current state of education for democracy in higher education and produce a report with a National Call to Action and specific steps through which multiple stakeholders can make college students’ civic learning and democratic engagement a pervasively embraced educational priority and a resource for democracy. We were invited, in effect, to complement our society’s strong commitment to increased college-going and completion with an equally strong and multi-front effort to ensure that postsecondary study contributes significantly to college students’ preparation as informed, engaged, and globally knowledgeable citizens. The US Department of Education was an involved partner in this entire effort, with key staff attending and attentive at national roundtables, and offering feedback on successive drafts ofA Crucible Moment. Yet department leaders also made it clear that this should be a report from the higher education community to the nation, not a brief framed by the department. Guided by an intensive multi-month dialogue with advisers from all parts of higher education and civil society, we shaped the analysis and National Call to Action presented in these pages. Caryn McTighe Musil served as the scribe and lead author for the Task Force. A final report required under the contract was submitted to the Department of Education in October 2011 and posted on its website in December 2011. Following that submission, A Crucible Moment was revised and edited for publication and dissemination in 2012. A CRUCIBLE MOMENT: College Learning & Democracy’s Future vii The arguments and recommendations made inA Crucible Moment were strongly influenced by the following work, which also was supported by the contract from the US Department of Education: 1. A series of five National
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