Educating for Civic Reasoning & Discourse: New Report from National Academy of Education

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This new report by the National Academy of Education (NAEd) focuses on preparing students to examine and discuss complex civic, political, and social issues by ensuring that the curricula, pedagogy, and learning environments they experience are informed by the best available evidence and instructional practice. Download the full report and Executive Summary.

Online briefing event: Monday, May 3, from 12:00pm-2:00pm EDT. The authors will provide an overview of the report and recommendations, followed by a discussion with special guests:

• David Kirp, University of California, Berkeley & the New York Times (moderator)
• Kathleen Hall Jamieson, The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania & FactCheck.Org
• Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University
• Rajiv Vinnakota, Institute for Citizens & Scholars

Register

Increasing polarization and unprecedented strain on democratic institutions coincide with social protests of racial injustices. Simultaneously, a health pandemic, economic shock, and climate crisis challenge us to take action. The availability of questionable digital information makes the acquisition of civic reasoning and discourse skills progressively more important for students to develop.

Our current environment highlights the importance of equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to understand complex social issues, respect multiple points of view, and dialogue across differences. Developing these capacities is essential to prepare students for citizenship, adulthood, and to be active members in their communities.

The following highlights are drawn from the extensive report recommendations:

• Learning the complex demands of civic reasoning and discourse should be grounded in research on how learning entails students' identity, cognitive, moral, and ethical development.  
• Civic learning should occur in environments conducive to student discussion, utilize project-based and inquiry-oriented approaches, and provide opportunities for democratic decision making.
• Civic education should not be siloed in civics classes – All of the core subject areas should contribute to the range of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students need to investigate problems in the public domain, using reasoning from evidence. 
• Learning to engage in civic reasoning and discourse should explicitly include strategies to help students gather, analyze, and thoughtfully circulate information in digital and other media, including identifying and combating misinformation.
• Research infrastructures and incentives should generate up-to-date data on teaching and learning in the area of civic reasoning and discourse.

This report was supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

SOURCE National Academy of Education

Related Links

naeducation.org