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Citizenship and the Future of Democracy Central Missouri State University September 29, 2005

Citizenship and the Future of Democracy Central Missouri State University September 29, 2005. The Challenge of our Times Threats to American Democracy: Shrinking levels of knowledge of democracy Rising levels of partisanship Growing separation of society

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Citizenship and the Future of Democracy Central Missouri State University September 29, 2005

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  1. Citizenship and the Future of Democracy Central Missouri State University September 29, 2005

  2. The Challenge of our Times Threats to American Democracy: Shrinking levels of knowledge of democracy Rising levels of partisanship Growing separation of society Pervasive Change in Public Higher Education: Diminishing levels of state support Increasing levels of competition Rising expectations for accountability

  3. The Key Question: How do we strengthen democracy and simultaneously strengthen our public institutions? One Solution: Focus on preparing citizens, a public purpose for public institutions.

  4. Thesis: Democracy in the United States is threatened. So, too, is public higher education. The strategy for strengthening democracy also strengthens our public colleges and universities.

  5. Threats to American Democracy • Decline in social and economic capital • Increasing inequality • Atomization of interests, news sources and the pervasive focus on entertainment • Money and politics • Lack of civic understanding and civics education in K-12 grades • Decline in political participation, esp. among the youngest adults

  6. A Decline in Social Capital Declining Social Capital: Trends over the last 25 years Attending Club Meetings Down by 58% Family dinners Down by 33% Having friends over Down by 45% Factors Contributing to Declining Social Capital Commuting (Each 10 minutes = 10% reduced participation) Television Two parents working Less Social Capital (esp. bridging social capital) = Less Democracy Studies in the United States and Italy Robert Putnam Bowling Alone

  7. Increasing inequality • Disparities of income, wealth, and access to opportunity are growing more sharply in the • U. S. than in many other nations • Gaps between races and ethnic groups persist • Progress toward American ideals of democracy may have stalled, and in some arenas reversed. • American Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality, Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy, American Political Science Association, 2004, www.apsanet.org

  8. Atomization of Interests, News Sources and the Pervasive Focus on Entertainment • The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000, from 16,342 to 34,750 • More television channels, more talk radio, internet, blogs, etc. • 40 million watched American Idol finale; 37 million watched 2nd Bush/Gore debate. Average age of viewer of network news: 60

  9. Money and Politics 2000: Bush $ 193; Gore $ 134 million. 2004: Bush $ 293: Kerry $ 252 million House Speaker Hastert: 2005-2006 Receipts: $1,249,534 (40% by PACs) House Minority Leader Pelosi: 2005-2006 Receipts: $237,252 (95% by PACs) [As of Aug 18] .09 % of population gives at least $ 1,000 to political campaigns, 55% of funds raised ¼ of Congress are millionaires; 1% of U.S.

  10. 91% of 2004 congressional primary candidates who raised the most money won their races. Winning Congressional candidates raised 50% more in 2004 than in 2002. 63% of primary candidates’ money came from .08% of the voting age population. “The sad thing is that in America today if it’s going to take $ 2 million to win, then normal people can’t run anymore. You either have to be very, very wealthy or very, very bought.” Janice Bowling, Republican Nominee for Tennessee’s 4th District

  11. Washington Post, September 12, 2005 Frederick Webber 30+ years as lobbyist in Washington President of Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers “Political fundraising in this town has gotten out of control” “What are the priorities here? “This thing has gotten away from us”

  12. Lack of Civic Understanding • John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Survey 112,003 high school students in 2004: 36% believe that newspapers should get “government approval” of stories before publishing • Fewer than half of persons 15-26 years old think that communicating with elected officials, volunteering, or donating money to help others are qualities of a good citizen • On NAEP 1998 Civics, 23% of 4th graders, 23% of 8th graders, and 26% of 12th graders scored at or above proficient

  13. 25.5% know that Philadelphia is the city where the Constitution was written; 75.2% know what city zip code 90210 is. • 21.2% know how many senators serve in the U.S. Senate; 81.2% know how many members in the music group “Hanson.” • 9% know the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education; 87% know the name of the football player found not guilty of murdering his wife • 25% of respondents know that the Fifth Amendment protects against double jeopardy/self incrimination, etc. ; 63.7% know that “The Club” protects against car theft. • 41.2% know the names of the three branches of government; 59.2% know the names of the three stooges. • 32% know the Speaker of the House; 89% know the father in Home Improvement • Survey of 600 students age 13-17, National Constitution Center, 1998

  14. 80% 70% 70% 59% 56% 60% 49% 50% 41% 40% 36% 40% 29% 30% 20% 10% 0% DotNets GenX Boomers Matures Most people look out for themselves Most people would take advantage of you Decline in Political Participation The youngest generation of voters has the greatest distrust of others Source: The Civic and Political Health of the Nation, A Generational Portrait, 2002.

  15. The youngest voters have the lowest participation in presidential elections Source: Current Population Survey (CPS), November Supplement, calculated using CIRCLE method.

  16. Dewey reminded us… The trouble…is that we have taken our democracy for granted; we have thought and acted as if our forefathers had founded it once and for all. We have forgotten that it has to be enacted anew in every generation. John Dewey

  17. Pervasive Change in Public Higher Education (This is not a new story): Old: As percentage of state spending, higher education funding is dropping, in some states now as little as 13%. Prisons, medicaid, and K-12 schools; tax cuts, etc. New: The willingness to fund higher education by significantly raising tuition. But competition is rising: University of Phoenix, founded in 1976, now 160,000 undergraduates. Accreditation groups and states increasingly want greater accountability, including evidence of student learning outcomes.

  18. 1. Is it possible that focusing on preparing future citizens can be understood as valuable civic work? 2. Is preparing citizens a viable public purpose for public higher education? If the answers to these questions are yes, then how does the work of civic engagement in universities get accomplished?

  19. A Focus on Institutional Intentionality How Do Campus Leaders Organize and Align the Campus and its Resources to Achieve an Institutional Focus on Civic Engagement Outcomes?

  20. What does it take to create civically-engaged graduates? 3 Critical Features: • Institutional Intention • (leadership, culture, policies) • Programs and Activities • (curriculum,co-curriculum) • Measuring Results • (institutional and course/ program results, using NSSE, Carnegie, HERI tools)

  21. Institutional Intentionality • Leadership: at lots of levels • Culture: reflecting widely-shared beliefs • Statements: Mission statements, • Accreditation documents, promotional • Materials, etc. • Policies • Administrative structures • Budget • Rewards and recognition

  22. 2. Civic Engagement in the Curriculum and Co-Curriculum Knowledge: Teaching democratic values, traditions, history of democracies, U.S. history Skills: Teaching communications, critical thinking, collective decision-making, organizational skills, etc. Experiences: Designing campus and community experiences for knowledge and application Reflection: Creating explicit connections between experiences and civic obligations

  23. Where is it found in the curriculum? In first year programs In capstone courses In the general education curriculum In majors and minors Where is it found in the co-curriculum? In student government In student organizations In residence halls In joint academic affairs/student affairs programs

  24. Skills Communications: writing, speaking, etc. Critical thinking: analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing, etc. Collective decision-making: deliberating, listening, working as a team, making collective decisions, compromising, identifying and solving public problems Organization: organizing, planning projects, influencing policy decisions, implementing policy decisions, taking collective actions

  25. Hypothesized Skill Acquisition Sequence • Collective decision making sequence • Write and speak* • Understand, explain and take positions+ • Organize tasks and acquire resources** • Express own preferences/Opinions* • Identify constructive ways to improve complex Situations+ • Understand other’s preferences++ • Compromise (if necessary) for collective good++ • *Communication **Organization +Critical Thinking ++Collective Decision Making Adapted from Kirlin, Mary 2003. Acquiring Civic Skills: Towards a Developmental Model of Civic Skill Acquisition in Adolescents. International Conference on Civic Education Research, November 16-18, 2003 New Orleans, LA

  26. Another view of skills: What makes something a problem, not a situation? What makes it a public problem? What is the agreement/disagreement about underlying values? What is the degree of certainty about the facts? How can alternative policy solutions be identified? What are the opportunities and obstacles? Adapted from Dave Robertson, University of Missouri-St. Louis, personal correspondence

  27. Measuring Results: • NSSE and ADP Consortium: • Three questions-13,000 students • What do you care about and how much (education, healthcare, environment, national security, etc? • What activities did you do and why (fund-raise, sign a petition, participate in a boycott, run for office, vote)? • Where do you get information about news, volunteering, etc?

  28. What was found in that survey? • Not much difference among many types of institutions. • Differences in gender and ethnicity. • 50% of students get their news from television. • What else is needed? • More info on sources of information • More info on number/duration of activities • Information on sense of political efficacy • Qualitative as well as quantitative info

  29. Meetings • 2 National meetings • 600 + participants • 9 Regional meetings • 500 + participants • Conceptual Design Process • Wingspread Conference • 40 participants, publication • Assessment Project • National Survey of Student Engagement questionnaire • 32 institutions, 13,000+ students • Programs • IUPUI meeting on Civic Engagement • 105 participants • “Inside The Times” • 270 participants, 2 years • Civic Engagement in Action Series launched ACCOMPLISHMENTS FIRST TWO YEARS American Democracy Project 200 institutions, 1.5+ million students

  30. Campus Audits Campus Conversations Voter Education/Registration Projects Curriculum Revision Projects Library Projects, Student Affairs Programs First Year Projects, Capstone Courses Fine Arts Projects, Graduation Pledges Speaker Series, Democracy Day Recognition and Award Programs Hundreds of Campus Projects

  31. Western Washington University @ www.wwu.edu/depts/adp/index.shtml

  32. SUNY Geneseo @ www.geneseo.edu/~adp/

  33. University of Central Oklahoma @ http://bronze.ucok.edu/AmericanDemocracyProject/

  34. Fort Hays State University @ www.fhsu.edu/adp/

  35. Indiana University South Bend @ http://ee.iusb.edu/index.php?/adp/blog/

  36. Libraries Service Learning Teacher Education Faculty Development Campus Culture Opportunities For Action Assessment First Year Programs Voter Registration Education Co-Curriculum General Education

  37. A New Series Civic Engagement in Action • 5 already launched • Stewardship of Public Lands • First Year • Jury Service • Voting • Other Lands • 2 under development • Teaching Civic Engagement • Teacher Education

  38. The Stewardship of Public Lands Issue: How are controversies over public lands resolved in a democracy? Partner: Yellowstone Association Activities: Presidents/CAOs meeting in June for the Design Seminar; Faculty Seminar in August

  39. Civic Engagement in the First Year of College Issue: How can civic engagement be fostered and encouraged in the first year of college? Partner: Policy Center for the First Year of College; Justice Talking Activities: Pre-Conference seminar on Thursday, June 16th in Portland to plan activities for the 2005-2006 academic year

  40. Jury Service as Democratic Participation Issue: How can colleges and universities support federal and state court systems in encouraging jury participation? Partner: American Judicature Society, National Center for State Courts; Council for Court Excellence Activities: Pre-conference meeting with cooperating organizations on Thursday, June 16th in Portland to plan activities for 2005-2006 academic year

  41. Electoral Voice: Organizing for Voting Issue: What lessons did our ADP campuses and others learn about the best ways to provide voter registration, voter information, and voter participation ? Partner: Indiana University, Purdue University-Indianapolis Activities: Pre-conference meeting on Thursday June 16th in Portland to design activities for the 2005-2006 academic year

  42. Civic Engagement in Other Lands Issue: How can universities in other countries support their emerging democracies? Partner: Association of Universities for Democracy (AUDEM) Activities: Initial meeting in November 2004 in Hungary; ADP campuses to be paired with non-U.S. institutions to exchange ideas, programs, etc.

  43. Teaching Political Engagement (To be launched late 2005) Issue: How can courses and pedagogies encourage civic and political engagement? Partner: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Activities: The Carnegie Foundation will organize a group of 10-15 ADP schools that want to pilot campus-wide dissemination efforts. Still in development phase.

  44. Preparing Teachers to Teach Civic Engagement (To be launched late 2005-early 2006) Issue: How can P-12 teachers be prepared to teach civic engagement? Partner: Public Achievement, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, the University of Minnesota Activities: Design and funding activities are currently underway to develop a project that will prepare future teachers to teach civic engagement in P-12 settings

  45. So How Are We Doing As A Democracy? Here’s a 6 part test. “We the People of the United States, in order to • Form a more perfect union 2. Insure domestic tranquility 3. Establish justice 4. Provide for the common defense 5. Promote the general welfare • Secure the blessings of liberty to • ourselves and our posterity …do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

  46. The bad news… Hurricane Katrina demonstrated what happens when government doesn’t work…when we’re not all in the same boat.

  47. Janadas Devan, Straits Times columnist: [But] it is not only government that doesn't show up when government is starved of resources and leached of all its meaning. Community doesn't show up either, sacrifice doesn't show up, pulling together doesn't show up, 'we're all in this together' doesn't show up."

  48. The Good News… The ages 15-25 are the critical period for the growth of civic skills and habits. There is growing evidence that educational interventions make a substantial difference in knowledge, understanding, and participation of students in civic life. We can make a difference…

  49. The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference and undernourishment Robert Hutchins

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