Preparing Students for Civic Engagement through Project Citizen

• In Event: Civic Engagement and Service Learning on College Campuses

Abstract

Project-based learning (PBL) can provide students with the opportunity to actively and cooperatively engage with real-world issues and problems. Project Citizen (PC), a widely used curricular program of the Center for Civic Education. Students identify a problem in their community or school, research the problem and policy-based solutions, consult with stakeholders, and develop an action plan. PBL has been lauded as a mechanism for imparting civic knowledge, dispositions, and skills. It can be a gateway to life-long civic engagement as it provides students with an invitation to take part in the life of their community, conveys knowledge of how the system works, instills an authentic desire to work for the good of society, and imparts the skills necessary for participation. Students can develop civic-related social and emotion learning competencies, such as critical thinking and collaborative skills, as well as facility with using STEM skills to address public policy concerns. The proposed paper will address the basic question: How effective is PC in fostering civic engagement in middle and secondary school students? The study will employ data from a three-year, large-scale national study of PC conducted by the Civic Education Research Lab (CERL) at Georgetown University from 2020-2023. The project employed a randomized control trial (RCT) that compared students of teachers who took part in a PC professional development program and were taught the PC curriculum to those in traditional civics and social studies classes. The study employs both surveys and qualitative data of student reactions to their participation in PC.

Authors

• Diana M. Owen, Georgetown University

• Alissa Irion-Groth, Center for Civic Education