The Equity in Civics White Paper
About the White Paper
The paper contains a literature review of academic research on civics education, as well as themes and recommendations stemming from a seven-city listening tour with educators, parents, and students on how to best center equity in civics education. Our hope is that this research, when paired with the work of local stakeholders, will help frame the conversation of civics education for years to come. Simply put, civics education must center equity at its very foundation. Centering equity means that civic learning should be inclusive, culturally relevant, encouraging of student voice, and supportive of teacher expertise that can create confidence in and excitement about democratic participation. As we look to the vital, long-term, and challenging work of building a multiracial democracy, an equity-centric approach to civics education must be at the forefront.
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In particular, these insights are the result of a two-year field-building initiative, including a seven-city listening tour conducted across urban and rural districts in regions as diverse as the nation itself: Harvest, AL; Salinas, CA, Boston MA, Chicago, IL, Austin, TX, Waco, TX, and Albuquerque, NM.
We learned that educators, parents, and students want more civics education earlier. They want it to be more equitable and experiential. They want it to be more relevant. They want the community and parents more involved. And they want more district and state support for it.
The Equity in Civics Education paper includes specific actions we can take right now to bring more equity into civics education:
Center student voices. Equitable civics is inclusive, representative, and relevant; it promotes diverse voices and draws on students’ lived experiences and perspectives in order to engage them in understanding social issues, the power dynamics that cause them, and the power that young people have to bring change.
Engage parents more. Adult collaboration and support is a key component to supporting and sustaining equitable civic education.
Fund civics with policy commitments. Everyone we spoke to was concerned about the lack of funding for more equitable civic education. We need to counter that concern with policy commitments to more equitable civics on the state, district, and school levels.
The Equity in Civics Education White Paper, created in partnership with iCivics, is a practitioner-oriented resource designed for educators, district leaders, students, parents, civic education providers, and policymakers.
