Only 22 percent of eighth-grade students reached proficiency in civics knowledge, according to the most recent study from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Many young Americans struggle to explain basic elements of the U.S. political system, but the problem with civic education today runs deeper than a lack of factual knowledge. At stake is not only what students know about democracy, but also whether they are prepared to participate in it.
One widely recognized shortcoming is students’ understanding of how government actually functions. “While much of the focus is at the federal level, there’s a huge gap in awareness of the role of municipalities and states,” said Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University and a member of the Karsh Institute of Democracy’s Advisory Board. “We have an inadequate understanding of the importance and influence of local governments.”
One way Peterson approaches this is through a municipal budgeting course at Pepperdine in which students engage with the city of Malibu, California. They see firsthand the real work of policymaking: paving roads, filling potholes, rebuilding after wildfires. They also get to interact with the people who decide where and how much to spend.
“When students engage with a local government like that, they start to see the complexity of policymaking and the trade-offs that are required,” Peterson said. “That’s why civic education also needs to focus on virtues: how to collaborate with people with whom you disagree and still work toward practical solutions.”
‘When students engage with a local government, they start to see the complexity of policymaking and the trade-offs that are required.’
Long before students reach college, experts suggest that a strong civics education can help turn the tide. “We did a project with kindergartners and asked, ‘How do we make our community more fun, fair, and a better place to live?’” said John Hobson, a Karsh Institute Educating for Democracy Fellow and assistant principal at Murray Elementary School in Albemarle County, Virginia. Students engaged in experiential learning through field trips, including presenting their views on improving their community to government officials at the Albermarle County Office Building. “It was empowering, and those students, now in second grade, still carry that sense of responsibility.”
Studies show that experiential learning—allowing students to engage directly with civic processes—can narrow the knowledge gap. When Hobson taught government, for example, he held mock elections, model Congress, and other civic action projects.
These activities help students understand the process on a granular level and allow them to develop a better sense of agency. “One key disposition we need to cultivate is efficacy,” Hobson said. “The belief that everyone has enough knowledge to participate is critical. If students don’t feel that sense of efficacy, they’re less likely to take part, even in something as simple as voting.”
Grounded in a long intellectual tradition is the notion that civic learning should cultivate both skill and character. In the ancient world, education was less concerned with career prep and more focused on forming citizens capable of engaging in public life.
“Ancient education was completely untethered to preparing for a profession,” said Jacqueline Arthur-Montagne, a John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy at the University of Virginia whose scholarship focuses on classical pedagogy. “If you studied rhetoric, philosophy, or literature, no one would say the purpose was to help you earn a living.”
‘Ancient education was completely untethered to preparing for a profession. If you studied rhetoric, philosophy, or literature, no one would say the purpose was to help you earn a living.’
That freedom allowed students to wrestle with fundamental questions. “When they read dialogues involving Cicero,” she said, “there was a lot of discussion about what a good citizen should do. And they reflected on big questions like how to live a good life, what justice means, and what virtue looks like. That’s something we might think about recovering today.”
Importantly, those ideas were not purely theoretical in the ancient world. Civic participation required the ability to speak, argue, and persuade. “Students were expected to use rhetoric throughout their lives,” Arthur-Montagne said. “If you were part of the elite class, you would speak in courts, assemblies, and civic councils. Students practiced speeches and arguments because they knew they would eventually use those skills in civic life.
“Today, we tend to teach history as something more static,” she added. “But in antiquity, they actively used history in debate. Students might role-play a speech by an Athenian like Demosthenes or debate a historical decision.”
Understanding how to think about issues is still fundamental to a good civic foundation. “What matters today at the community level is often not inherently partisan,” Peterson said. “Two people who vote differently in a presidential election can find themselves on the same side of a local issue. When students realize that, it’s an important civic learning experience.”
Equally crucial is the capacity to think beyond oneself. “We emphasize to our students to see the world from others’ perspectives—‘Not just what’s good for me, but what’s good for all of us,’” Hobson said of what he told the kindergarteners, who as first-graders helped renovate the school garden, first by interviewing a wide range of stakeholders that included the special needs classes, to account for accessibility issues, and the cafeteria staff, who work with produce daily.
“These young students prioritized others’ needs over their own,” he said, “which was really powerful to watch.”
Today, social media silos can challenge that ability to empathize. “There always has been polarization in politics,” Peterson said. “But to actually change policy, persuasion and compromise are still required. And social media is probably the last place where that happens right now.”
‘There always has been polarization in politics. But to actually change policy, persuasion and compromise are still required.’
Still, there is reason for cautious optimism. “I’m hopeful that we’re turning a corner,” said Hobson, citing his work with the other Karsh Institute Educating for Democracy Fellows, more than a half dozen educators from the Charlottesville area who help young people understand their roles in democracy. “I’m seeing more commitment to creating environments where students can develop the skills, dispositions, and knowledge they need to be effective citizens.”