On April 29, 2010, 75 scholars, civic leaders, and federal officials met in Washington to develop a federal policy agenda for civic skills. The conference was convened by CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. It was co-sponsored by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and Strengthening Our Nation's Democracy (SOND).
Participants shared these fundamental premises:
American citizens and communities can address our nation's fundamental problems. ... But to do so requires civic skills, especially the ability to gather and interpret information, speak and listen, engage in dialogue about differences, resolve conflicts, reach agreements, collaborate with peers, understand formal government, and advocate for change. Unfortunately many people in the media do a poor job of role modeling effective dialogue and debate, so we need real role models and learning opportunities, both live and virtual. (Appendix 1 lists important skills in more detail.)
President Obama rightly noted on his first day in office that "Public engagement enhances the Government’s effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions. Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having access to that dispersed knowledge." ... But for government to benefit from citizens' knowledge, citizens must have skills of analysis, collaboration, and expression.
Teaching civic skills is mainly a task for families, communities, private associations, local schools, and institutions of higher education. ... But the federal government has also played a constructive role in developing skills since the time of the founders and should be a leader and role model again today.
Knowledge and information are important, and so are acts such as voting and volunteering. ... But neither knowledge nor action is satisfactory without civic skills and civic engagement.
Civic associations have developed their members' skills throughout American history. ... But these associations are in deep decline (notwithstanding some important new forms of online association), and therefore we cannot count on the public's civic skills to be adequate in the decades ahead.
All Americans must step up and contribute to common problems. ... But opportunities to develop civic skills are highly unequal. Working class youth are especially unlikely to receive such opportunities in their schools or their communities.
Policymakers and citizens are rightly concerned with preparing young people for college and a competitive, global job market ... But developing civic skills also helps students to succeed academically and in the workplace because civic skills are life skills.
The original mission of public schools in America was to prepare the next generation of effective and responsible citizens. ... But schools have generally sidelined their civic mission in an era of standards and accountability focused on other subjects.
Americans respond well to opportunities to contribute to their communities and learn skills. ... But such opportunities are scarce.
Statistical evidence in support of these points is presented in the CIRCLE fact sheet, Civic Skills and Federal Policy, available at http://www.civicyouth.org/?p=375.
Participants broadly defined the federal role in developing civic skills. Not only educational programs and programs aimed at youth are relevant. All federal agencies interact with citizens and community-based organizations and can support and enhance their skills. Federal civil servants also need skills to engage effectively with citizens and see thgemselves as role models. Learning civic skills is a lifelong process, constantly evolving as public problems, tools and technologies, and policies shift.
Those who endorse this report believe that the federal government must take the following steps to enhance citizens' civic skills.
Across federal agencies, develop common principles, values, and language that help build the civic capacities of civil servants and that nurture authentic public engagement. This objective may require both an inter-agency working group on skills within the federal government and convening others outside the government to develop common principles and strategies. One important outcome would be more inspiring language for talking about "civic engagement."
Using similar principles, values, and language to those mentioned in #1, improve the training of future teachers and the professional development of current teachers. Base this effort on new research about what enhances teacher education.
Define the goals of education as preparation for college, career, and citizenship (the "Three C's") and explore ways to make these three goals cohere, recognizing that most civic skills are also academic and job skills. Redefine civic skills so that they are also workforce skills. Make skill development a lifelong objective, not just a function of schools from kindergarden through 12th grade.
Redirect service-oriented programs and opportunities so that they become civic-skill-building and community-capacity-building programs. Go beyond the "service" language. At the same time, recognize that some service and service-learning programs already have strong records of developing civic skills.
Identify and invest in community-based organizations that target and legitimately reach young people who are not on a track to attend college and that build their civic skills (in addition to meeting other objectives). Invest in their efforts to develop civic skills.
Use social service agencies as opportunities to build portable civic skills among the "clients" of government. For example, social service agencies can be used as an entry point to civic education by conducting voter registration drives at social service agencies.
Many more ideas were proposed by particular working groups in the April 29th conference but did not receive as much support as those listed above. These ideas are listed in Appendix 2
The Report is endorsed by the following individuals.
Peter Levine, CIRCLE, Tufts University
Elaine Andrews, University of Wisconsin, Environmental Resources Center
Others attended the April 29 conference but were not able, or chose not to, endorse or help write this policy statement. Organizations are listed for identification purposes, only.
Appendix 1: Civic Skills
In surveys completed before the conference, participants identified the following as important civic skills.
speaking and listening
Speaking and writing effectively on public issues; communication skills, persuasive argument, listening to others (especially those with whom you disagree); the ability to understand and be sensitive to different points of view and the reasons for them; the ability to discuss controversial issues in an informed way that doesn’t lead to demonizing others or their opinions. In short, all the things that empower someone to use his or her voice effectively and with integrity in co-creating our common public world.
collaborating, organizing fellow citizens
Convening and leading meetings, negotiating/compromising, problem-solving, decision-making, dialogue and deliberation, collaborative team work, goal-setting, consensus-building, public problem-solving through a variety of methods (advocacy, service, political engagement etc.); working with others (especially those who are different).
understanding formal politics
Basic knowledge of institutions and processes, understanding government, understanding political power. Power analysis -- identifying various levers of power, how to access them, and which levers are appropriate to try to access and deploy given one's aims. Also, ability to participate in activities essential to the democratic process, including voting, petitioning for government to take action, and expressing opinions.
advocacy
Exercising one’s rights, community organizing, knowledge of what level of government, knowledge of how to effectively engage policymakers and the system
information-gathering and processing
The ability to distill information and experience into an understanding of major common issues. Critical thinking (challenging ideas, questioning positions); the ability to discern fact from fiction, rumor from news, and demagoguery from honest debate; the ability to identify and define issues, gather the information needed to describe them (their scope, who is affected and how, etc.), analyze their root causes, develop solutions that address those causes, and create a plan of action to accomplish those solutions. Identify multiple causes (individual, institutional, systemic; both proximal and distal) as a means both of understanding problems and devising solutions. A sense and knowledge of history, of salient issues in the present and of the complexity of the process of moving from the present to the desired future in public policy. Knowing how to interpret political communication such as cartoons or editorials.
technology
Using technology to gather and share information and organize people to create change, savvy with the traditional media and new social media; the ability to judge online materials for accuracy
Appendix 2: Additional Policy Proposals
At the end of the conference, participants were asked to cast just two votes each for policy proposals that had been developed during the course of the day. The proposals that received the most votes are presented above, in the main text. The following proposals also emerged from working groups and received votes in the final plenary.
To enhance civic learning in schools from kindergarten to 12th grade
Increase funding for research on civic education.
Incorporate civic learning into existing courses (not limited to social studies)
Enhance school climates to nurture and encourage civic-skills training for all students.
To develop the civic skills of young adults not on a track to college (approximately half of the young population):
There should be a greater emphasis, overall, on recruiting non-college youth to civic engagement and civic learning.
The federal government should use its power to convene across sectors.
To strengthen the role of higher education in developing civic skills
Develop criteria for programs within higher education that include: student readiness, reciprocal relationships, learning exchanges, cross-sector engagement, and community development. In each college or university, a community review board implements and assesses these criteria.
Pass the DREAM Act (the The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which makes certain undocumented aliens eligible for federal financial aid.
To strengthen the role of federal agencies in civic-skill development
Organize peer-to-peer learning opportunities for federal civil servants concerned with public engagement.
Gather and apply advice about criteria for "authentic engagement" from civic engagement and citizen participation experts.
When requiring participation as part of a regulation, suggest a range of mechanisms such as planning, data gathering, and data use and interpretation.
Encourage participation by regulated groups by offering flexible regulatory strategies that reward regulated groups for improvements beyond required compliance.
Civic Skills Conference Report
On April 29, 2010, 75 scholars, civic leaders, and federal officials met in Washington to develop a federal policy agenda for civic skills. The conference was convened by CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. It was co-sponsored by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and Strengthening Our Nation's Democracy (SOND).
Participants shared these fundamental premises:
Statistical evidence in support of these points is presented in the CIRCLE fact sheet, Civic Skills and Federal Policy, available at http://www.civicyouth.org/?p=375.
Participants broadly defined the federal role in developing civic skills. Not only educational programs and programs aimed at youth are relevant. All federal agencies interact with citizens and community-based organizations and can support and enhance their skills. Federal civil servants also need skills to engage effectively with citizens and see thgemselves as role models. Learning civic skills is a lifelong process, constantly evolving as public problems, tools and technologies, and policies shift.
Those who endorse this report believe that the federal government must take the following steps to enhance citizens' civic skills.
Many more ideas were proposed by particular working groups in the April 29th conference but did not receive as much support as those listed above. These ideas are listed in Appendix 2
The Report is endorsed by the following individuals.
Peter Levine, CIRCLE, Tufts University
Elaine Andrews, University of Wisconsin, Environmental Resources Center
Others attended the April 29 conference but were not able, or chose not to, endorse or help write this policy statement. Organizations are listed for identification purposes, only.
Appendix 1: Civic Skills
In surveys completed before the conference, participants identified the following as important civic skills.
speaking and listening
Speaking and writing effectively on public issues; communication skills, persuasive argument, listening to others (especially those with whom you disagree); the ability to understand and be sensitive to different points of view and the reasons for them; the ability to discuss controversial issues in an informed way that doesn’t lead to demonizing others or their opinions. In short, all the things that empower someone to use his or her voice effectively and with integrity in co-creating our common public world.
collaborating, organizing fellow citizens
Convening and leading meetings, negotiating/compromising, problem-solving, decision-making, dialogue and deliberation, collaborative team work, goal-setting, consensus-building, public problem-solving through a variety of methods (advocacy, service, political engagement etc.); working with others (especially those who are different).
understanding formal politics
Basic knowledge of institutions and processes, understanding government, understanding political power. Power analysis -- identifying various levers of power, how to access them, and which levers are appropriate to try to access and deploy given one's aims. Also, ability to participate in activities essential to the democratic process, including voting, petitioning for government to take action, and expressing opinions.
advocacy
Exercising one’s rights, community organizing, knowledge of what level of government, knowledge of how to effectively engage policymakers and the system
information-gathering and processing
The ability to distill information and experience into an understanding of major common issues. Critical thinking (challenging ideas, questioning positions); the ability to discern fact from fiction, rumor from news, and demagoguery from honest debate; the ability to identify and define issues, gather the information needed to describe them (their scope, who is affected and how, etc.), analyze their root causes, develop solutions that address those causes, and create a plan of action to accomplish those solutions. Identify multiple causes (individual, institutional, systemic; both proximal and distal) as a means both of understanding problems and devising solutions. A sense and knowledge of history, of salient issues in the present and of the complexity of the process of moving from the present to the desired future in public policy. Knowing how to interpret political communication such as cartoons or editorials.
technology
Using technology to gather and share information and organize people to create change, savvy with the traditional media and new social media; the ability to judge online materials for accuracy
Appendix 2: Additional Policy Proposals
At the end of the conference, participants were asked to cast just two votes each for policy proposals that had been developed during the course of the day. The proposals that received the most votes are presented above, in the main text. The following proposals also emerged from working groups and received votes in the final plenary.
To enhance civic learning in schools from kindergarten to 12th grade
Increase funding for research on civic education.
Incorporate civic learning into existing courses (not limited to social studies)
Enhance school climates to nurture and encourage civic-skills training for all students.
To develop the civic skills of young adults not on a track to college (approximately half of the young population):
There should be a greater emphasis, overall, on recruiting non-college youth to civic engagement and civic learning.
The federal government should use its power to convene across sectors.
To strengthen the role of higher education in developing civic skills
Develop criteria for programs within higher education that include: student readiness, reciprocal relationships, learning exchanges, cross-sector engagement, and community development. In each college or university, a community review board implements and assesses these criteria.
Pass the DREAM Act (the The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which makes certain undocumented aliens eligible for federal financial aid.
To strengthen the role of federal agencies in civic-skill development
Organize peer-to-peer learning opportunities for federal civil servants concerned with public engagement.