The Heartland Institute

By characterizing education primarily as the path to personal and professional advancement, reformers have (albeit unintentionally) redefined education as a private good, divorcing schooling from its historic role of instructing young people for citizenship, write Robin Lake and Cheryl Miller in a report for the American Enterprise ...

A growing number of studies have demonstrated that private schools and many charters provide a much better civic education than public schools, notes David Campbell of the University of Notre Dame. This contradicts conventional wisdom that public schools are necessary to inculcate citizenship. Even so, he says, the right question ...

Schools can and should encourage a strong civic education, writes James Youniss of the Catholic University of America, and can also do so without indoctrinating children. He suggests three methods: informed, civil discussion and debate; student government with input into school management; and volunteering. Each approach is supported ...

Teachers may be setting too low a bar for what they expect students to know about American history and government, conclude Steve Farkas and Ann Duffett in a national, random sample survey of high school social studies teachers. Social studies teachers are also largely in step with public attitudes about the U.S. and its ...