Allison Rank et al., "Civic Pedagogies: Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024)
Feb 14, 2025
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Allison Rank, Lauren C. Bell, and Carah Ong Whaley are political scientists and co-editors of a new book on civic engagement in today’s polarized environment. They discuss the evolution of civic pedagogies, stressing the need to equip students for active community participation. The conversation also highlights challenges in teaching civic engagement, especially in diverse settings like Hispanic Serving Institutions, and the importance of effective assessment methods. Their insights encourage educators to foster meaningful dialogue and collaboration among students.
Civic engagement in education fosters critical thinking and social responsibility, empowering students to take meaningful action in their communities.
The book integrates both theoretical and practical approaches to civic engagement, emphasizing the need for assessment to evaluate educational outcomes effectively.
Deep dives
Origins of the Civic Engagement Project
The project for the book 'Civic Pedagogies: Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics' began during a conversation at the American Political Science Association meeting in 2022. One of the editors, Kara, was initially hesitant to take on a new project, but after discussing it with Lauren, they both saw the potential for adding valuable resources to the civic engagement discourse. Their discussion led to the decision to recruit Allison to join their editorial team, reflecting a collaborative effort driven by a shared belief in the importance of addressing civic engagement in contemporary education. This unique project aims to provide educators with the tools to promote civic engagement, especially amidst divisive political climates, by fusing theory with practical applications.
Understanding Civic Engagement
Civic engagement is characterized by the development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that allow students not just to reflect academically but to take practical action aiming to improve their communities. The editors emphasize that civic engagement transcends the superficial appeal of being a buzzword, focusing instead on fostering a more inclusive and just democracy. This pedagogical approach aims to empower students to engage critically with their environments and contributes to their development as socially responsible citizens. Through activities like voter mobilization, students can cultivate civic agency, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to public life and respond to societal issues.
Civic Engagement in Divisive Politics
In the current era of polarization, classrooms can serve as essential spaces for fostering dialogue among students with diverse perspectives. Engaging students in problem-solving discussions rather than focusing on political affiliation can help mitigate the negative effects of divisive politics. The editors note that experiential learning opportunities in community contexts often reveal a less contentious reality than that portrayed on social media, teaching students that effective governance often involves collaboration, even among differing political viewpoints. This approach ultimately strengthens the fabric of community discourse, challenging the idea that civic engagement must be divided along partisan lines.
Structure and Impact of the Book
The book is structured to provide both theoretical foundations and practical examples of civic engagement, divided into sections that discuss theory, practical applications, benefits, challenges, and assessment. Beginning with theoretical discussions allows readers to grasp the importance of civic engagement before delving into actionable strategies that can be implemented in educational settings. Each section addresses potential challenges, empowering educators to navigate around institutional obstacles. Crucially, the inclusion of assessment standards emphasizes the importance of evaluating the impact of civic engagement efforts, ensuring that both educators and students can meaningfully contribute to their communities while improving educational outcomes.
Political Scientists Lauren C. Bell, Allison Rank, and Carah Ong Whaley have a new edited volume, Civic Pedagogies: Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics(Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). This book has four separate sections that guide the reader through different dimensions of teaching civic engagement and the many aspects of this important pedagogical capacity that often falls on the shoulders of political science faculty at universities and colleges in the United States. In our discussion we cover the idea of civic engagement itself as an approach that many of us integrate into our courses in a variety of ways. Civic Pedagogies focuses on this complex topic first through a number of chapters that dive into the theory behind civic engagement and how to think about this concept as a dimension of or the entirety of a college course. The next section of the book takes up a variety of different practical approaches to embedding civic learning into courses. The last two sections of the book explore the challenges and benefits of civically engaged pedagogies and, finally, assessment of civically engaged pedagogies.
This is a thorough and thoughtful book with an impressive array of contributing authors all thinking about not only the importance of civically engaged pedagogies, but also the unique dimensions of this kind of pedagogy. The three editors explain, in our conversation, different points of importances that were fleshed out by the many contributors and their thinking about how best to embed this vital component of education within a democracy. Civic Pedagogies: Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics has so many different perspectives that it provides a rich array of options for most educators who want or need to integrate civic pedagogies into their classrooms. In our discussion, we also explore the value of being able to engage on public topics and political questions in a civil manner—both in the classroom itself and then, as students move into their lives beyond college, as members of their communities.
