Teaching Citizens

Abstract

Youth civic participation is at alarmingly low levels. In 2014, nearly 80% of eligible 18-29 year-olds did not vote in the midterm election (CIRCLE, 2014). Other forms of civic engagement are also at starkly low levels: less than one in ten 18-29 year-olds report contacting a public official, boycotting a product, or frequently expressing political opinions on the internet (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Historically, schools have been tasked with preparing students with the knowledge and skills to be active democratic citizens. However, few studies have examined the role of teachers in fostering students' civic knowledge and skills. This study used data from the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 8th grade civics assessment to analyze the relationships between teacher participation in professional learning, use of interactive instructional practices, and student achievement in civics. Participation in professional learning significantly predicted both interactive instruction and student achievement: a one standard deviation increase in professional learning was associated with a predicted .32 standard deviation increase in interactive instructional practices, and a predicted .045 standard deviation increase in student achievement. There was no significant difference between more traditional and communities of practice based forms of professional development in their relationships with interactive instructional practices and student civic achievement. Interactive instructional practices were also significantly associated with increases in student achievement on NAEP civics, but the effect size was small: a one standard deviation increase in interactive instruction was related to a predicted .03 standard deviation increase in student achievement. Moreover, the relationship between interactive instruction and student achievement was curvilinear; high levels of interactive instruction were associated with decreases in student achievement. The study did not find any evidence that teacher participation in professional learning increased the effectiveness of interactive instructional practices.