Education (formal and non-formal) Schools and Community Groups as Mini Polities A citizen is, most simply, a member of a political community, entitled to whatever prerogatives and encumbered with whatever responsibilities are attached to membership. “Latin civis; the Greek equivalent is polites, member of the polis, from which comes our politics.” – M. Walzer, Citizenship

Naming the Civic Domain What is CIVIC? o Civic o Civic implies a commons or community o Community – building together o Civic work is collective – interdependent o Democracy Not the business of government o Dêmos People KratosPower  Practices in mini polities (schools, etc.) NURTURING A SENSE OF THE PUBLIC IN YOUTH

Education for expanding knowledge and understanding of others Education to see issues from different perspectives Education to develop open-mindedness, tolerance, trust Education to contribute to the common good Education to promote civic stability and civic change What is civic education

Sense of the Public WE, the people Solidarity, Connectedness

Social Trust (T1) Interpersonal Trust (T2) School’s Civic Ethos (T2) Student Solidarity (T2) Social Trust (T2) Solidarity (T1) Longitudinal Model of Adolescent Social Trust

ADOLESCENTS’ VIEWS OF ‘OTHERS’ IN THEIR COMMUNITY IN THEIR COMMUNITY

IN YOUR OWN WORDS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE AN AMERICAN? FREEDOM / ACHIEVEMENT  free to be an individual  free to make my own decisions  achieve success  have power CIVIC EQUALITY  be part of a diverse society  respect for others and their opinions  protection of minorities from the tyranny of the majority  Constitutional guarantees -- freedom of speech, assembly

Sometimes a person identifies strongly with their ancestral or cultural group. Other times a person may identify more with being an American. Tell us a time when you felt very much like an American “ in school because you can’t and shouldn’t feel prejudice in school”. “when I am at school and there are so many different kinds of people, and most of the time everyone still gets along”. “when I’m on a team, we all go out there together. Working with each other knowing, if one fails, we all fail”.

ADOLESCENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMMIGRANTS Should Assimilate Act American If immigrants want to be part of America, they should act more like Americans. Pose a Threat Immigrants tend to bring crime into the United States. Enrich American Culture Immigrants enrich the culture of the United States. Scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree 5 = Strongly Agree

What it means to be “American” and Attitudes towards Immigrants