Civics and citizenship focus on providing students with the disposition and tools to effectively engage with their government. Critical literacy is necessary for responsible citizenship in a world where the quantity of information overwhelms quality information and misinformation is prevalent. Critical Literacy Initiatives for Civic Engagement is an essential reference source that discusses the intersection of critical literacy and citizenship and provides practical ways for educators to encourage responsible citizenship in their classrooms. Featuring research on topics such as language learning, school governance, and digital platforms, this book is ideally designed for professionals, teachers, administrators, academicians, and researchers.

This practical resource shows teachers how to enact robust forms of civic education in today’s schools. Both instructive and thought-provoking, it will inspire teachers to craft curricula addressing a wide range of genuine civic problems such as those related to racial discrimination, environmental damage, and community health. Dividing civic literacy projects into three key phases—problem identification, problem exploration, and action—the author provides concrete examples from upper-elementary, middle, and high school classrooms to illustrate and analyze how each phase can unfold. The projects ultimately provide opportunities for youth to participate in civic life while they develop essential literacy skills associated with reading, writing, and speaking. The final chapter outlines a curriculum design process that will result in coherent and meaningful civic literacy projects driven by clear goals. It includes practical tools, such as a sample unit timeline, an assessment chart, and student worksheets that can be modified for immediate use. “Shira’s work offers us a reflection of democratic practice in the classroom through the teaching of critical reading, persuasive writing, and deliberation. In Teaching Civic Literacy Projects,Shira invites us all to contemplate the depth of the democratic project and the possibility that schools can help uphold our democratic ideals.” —From the Foreword by Celia Oyler, professor, Teachers College, Columbia University. “This book is a gem! Shira Epstein has provided invaluable assistance for teachers interested in engaging their students in the political and civic spheres in ways that build crucial literacy skills. The combination of a powerful framework and rich and detailed case studies provides readers with a clear vision and helpful, specific guidance for creating robust civic learning experiences for young people.” —Diana Hess, senior vice-president, Spencer Foundation and professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison “Excellent civic education means encouraging young people to identify and define problems and take action. That is challenging in our era of political polarization and narrow definitions of education. Shira Eve Epstein provides the best practical guide for teachers who want their students to confront social problems.” —Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Tufts University

Activism and the role everyday people play in making a change in society are increasingly popular topics in the world right now, especially as younger generations begin to speak out. From traditional protests to activities on college campuses, to the use of social media, more individuals are finding accessible platforms with which to share their views and become more actively involved in politics and social welfare. With the emergence of new technologies and a spotlight on important social issues, people are able to become more involved in society than ever before as they fight for what they believe. It is essential to consider the recent trends, technologies, and movements in order to understand where society is headed in the future. The Research Anthology on Citizen Engagement and Activism for Social Change examines a plethora of innovative research surrounding social change and the various ways citizens are involved in shaping society. Covering topics such as accountability, social media, voter turnout, and leadership, it is an ideal work for activists, sociologists, social workers, politicians, public administrators, sociologists, journalists, policymakers, social media analysts, government administrators, academicians, researchers, practitioners, and students.

This volume examines the role of writing, rhetoric, and literacy programs and approaches in the practice of civic engagement in global contexts. Writing programs have experience in civic engagement and service learning projects in their local communities, and their work is central to developing students’ literacy practices. Further, writing programs compel student writers to attend to audience needs and rhetorical exigencies as well as reflect on their own subject positions. Thus, they are particularly situated to partner with other units on college campuses engaged in global partnerships. Civic Engagement in Global Contexts provides examples and evidence of the critical self-reflection and iteration with community partners that make these projects important and valuable. Throughout its thirteen chapters, this collection provides practical pedagogical and administrative approaches for writing studies faculty engaging with global learning projects, as well as nuanced insight into how to navigate contact zones from the planning stages of projects to the hard work of self-reflection and change. Partnerships and projects across national borders compel the field of rhetoric and composition to think through the ethics of writing studies program design and teaching practices. Doing this difficult work can disrupt presumptive notions of ownership that faculty and administrators hold concerning the fields involved in these projects and can even lead to decentering rhetoric/composition and other assumptions held by US-based institutions of higher education. Civic Engagement in GlobalContexts will be useful to instructors, advisors, and project managers of students in faculty-led project learning in overseas settings, international service learning through foreign study programs, and foreign study itself and to faculty members introducing civic engagement and community-based learning projects with foreign students in overseas institutions. Contributors: Olga Aksakalova, James Austin, Maria de Lourdes Caudillo Zambrano, Rebecca Charry Roje, Patricia M. Dyer, Tara E. Friedman, Bruce Horner, Kathryn Johnson Gindlesparger, Adela C. Licona, Ian Mauer, Joyce Meier, Susan V. Meyers, Sadia Mir, Stephen T. Russell

Civic life today is mediated. Communities small and large are now using connective platforms to share information, engage in local issues, facilitate vibrant debate, and advocate for social causes. In this timely book, Paul Mihailidis explores the texture of daily engagement in civic life, and the resources—human, technological, and practical—that citizens employ when engaging in civic actions for positive social impact. In addition to examining the daily civic actions that are embedded in media and digital literacies and human connectedness, Mihailidis outlines a model for empowering young citizens to use media to meaningfully engage in daily life.

Findings suggested that the teacher candidates in this study 1) developed understandings of the importance of teaching the literacy skills needed to participate in democratic ways, 2) acknowledged the importance of teaching for a public purpose and working collaboratively with a variety of people, and 3) were able to integrate a wide range of multimodal resources and strategies in their teaching, all while keeping students' needs and interests at the center of their decision-making. Teacher candidates viewed their roles as teaching students the skill needed to accomplish real-world tasks, which included speaking and listening in addition to reading and writing. They also recognized that elementary classrooms could be spaces for children to discuss and understand real-world issues. In addition to these views of their roles as teachers, the teacher candidates often implied that their roles as teachers was to fix communities which implied a deficit view of the families and communities they imagined they would someday be teaching. Implications for this study provide suggestions for promising practices in a literacy method course that have potential for developing teacher candidates' civic efficacy and understandings of critical literacy so that they see their role as developing citizens who can fully participate in a democratic society.

As former elementary school teachers, the authors focus on what is possible in schools rather than a romantic vision of what schools could be. Based on a 5-year study of an elementary school, this book shows how civic engagement can be purposive and critical—a way to encourage young people to examine their environment, to notice and question injustices, and to take action to make a difference in their communities and school. Focusing on the intersection of student voice and critical inquiry, the book describes how to embed civic engagement into curriculum, school decision-making processes, and whole-school activities. Chapters provide an overview of what research has demonstrated about civic engagement at the classroom, school, and community levels, including detailed descriptions of activities and lessons for practice. Classroom teachers, school principals, community members, and teacher educators can use this resource to foster a deeper, richer understanding of what is entailed in civic life. Book Features: A vivid portrait of a “typical” public school that wants to do more than teach to the test.An examination of the conditions that enable young people to participate in democratic practices, including identifying and questioning injustices.Concrete examples of student voice and critical inquiry in classroom contexts.Practices and activities that encourage children to get along with others, exchange perspectives, and work across differences. “Offers a suggestive range of evidence that high-quality civic engagement initiatives can enhance students’ academic, social, and emotional engagement. . . . It reveals the nitty-gritty of how experienced teachers can enable children who are immersed in meaningful civic work also to engage more deeply with mathematical problem-solving, peer collaboration, literacy and social studies learning, and development of empathy and mutual trust.” —From the Foreword by Meira Levinson “Mitra and Serriere show us not only that elementary-aged children are capable of civic engagement, but how such engagement can be nurtured in the classroom. Children can be active civic participants; this book demonstrates both the power of this idea and how we might accomplish this essential task.” —Beth C. Rubin, Rutgers University

The development of social technologies has brought about a new era of political planning and government interactions. In addition to reducing costs in city resource management, ICT and social media can be used in emergency situations as a mechanism for citizen engagement, to facilitate public administration communication, etc. In spite of all these advantages, the application of technologies by governments and the public sector has also fostered debate in terms of cyber security due to the vulnerabilities and risks that can befall different stakeholders. It is necessary to review the most recent research about the implementation of ICTs in the public sector with the aim of understanding both the strengths and the vulnerabilities that the management models can entail. Digital Government and Achieving E-Public Participation: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of ICT implementation in the public sector that seeks to allow readers to understand how ICTs have forced public administrations to undertake reforms to both their workflow and their means of interacting with citizens. While highlighting topics including e-government, emergency communications, and urban planning, this book is ideally designed for government officials, public administrators, public managers, policy holders, policymakers, public consultants, professionals, academicians, students, and researchers seeking current research on the digital communication channels between elected officials and the citizens they represent.

Faculty often worry that students can't or won't read critically, a foundational skill for success in academic and professional endeavors. "Critical reading" refers both to reading for academic purposes and reading for social engagement. This volume is based on collaborative, multidisciplinary research into how students read in first-year courses in subjects ranging from scientific literacy through composition. The authors discovered the good (students can read), the bad (students are not reading for social engagement), and the ugly (class assignments may be setting students up for failure) and they offer strategies that can better engage students and provide more meaningful reading experiences.

The issue of social justice has been brought to the forefront of society within recent years, and educational institutions have become an integral part of this critical conversation. Classroom settings are expected to take part in the promotion of inclusive practices and the development of culturally proficient environments that provide equal and effective education for all students regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, and disability, as well as from all walks of life. The scope of these practices finds itself rooted in curriculum, teacher preparation, teaching practices, and pedagogy in all educational environments. Diversity within school administrations, teachers, and students has led to the need for socially just practices to become the norm for the progression and advancement of education worldwide. In a modern society that is fighting for the equal treatment of all individuals, the classroom must be a topic of discussion as it stands as a root of the problem and can be a major step in the right direction moving forward. Research Anthology on Instilling Social Justice in the Classroom is a comprehensive reference source that provides an overview of social justice and its role in education ranging from concepts and theories for inclusivity, tools, and technologies for teaching diverse students, and the implications of having culturally competent and diverse classrooms. The chapters dive deeper into the curriculum choices, teaching theories, and student experience as teachers strive to instill social justice learning methods within their classrooms. These topics span a wide range of subjects from STEM to language arts, and within all types of climates: PK-12, higher education, online or in-person instruction, and classrooms across the globe. This book is ideal for in-service and preservice teachers, administrators, social justice researchers, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how social justice is currently being implemented in all aspects of education.