Educating for Democracy: Preparing Undergraduates for Responsible Political Engagement (review)

The flags lowered to half-mast as the news of a shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona spread across the United States on Saturday, January 8^th. Jared Lee Loughner had opened fire outside a shopping mall at a “Congress on Your Corner” event sponsored by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In the end, six people lay dead and 13 were injured including the congresswoman (CBS, 2011). Almost as quickly, the rhetoric spread over the airwaves. Opinions flew, blaming talk show hosts, political tensions, and gun control lobbyists (Rutenberg & Zernike, 2011; Nagourney, 2011; Becker & Luo, 2011). Obama (2011) called for “civility in our public discourse” at the memorial service later in the week (p. 4). This was the context of the times as I began reading Educating for Democracy: Preparing Undergraduates for Responsible Political Engagement by Anne Colby, Elizabeth Beaumont, Thomas Ehrlich, and Josh Corngold (2010).

Colby et al. (2010) posit in Educating for Democracy that “Higher education can—and should—do more to prepare college students for responsible democratic participation” (p. 276). Their book builds upon previous work by Colby, Ehrlich, and Beaumont (2003) published as: Educating Citizens: Preparing America’s Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility (see review by Leever [2006]). The three-year study received support from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Learning where Anne Colby was the senior scholar. A selection of courses from a variety of higher education institutions across the United States formed the Political Engagement Project (PEP). The experience of students and faculty engaged in these courses is the research focus of Colby et al.

The purpose of Educating for Democracy is to examine the PEP and report on the findings. The authors claim the book

intends to articulate what it means to teach effectively for a complex and interconnected array of outcomes that include knowledge and understanding, skill or know-how, and several aspects of motivation—in this case in the domain of political development and democratic citizenship broadly construed.

(p. 4)

The result is that the book can be viewed as a “how-to” manual that contributes to teaching and learning beyond the discipline of political sciences. This book is a worthwhile read for faculty in any discipline interested in pedagogy, and for practitioners in community development.

The PEP is a collection of the 21 courses chronicled in the three-year study. Abstracts of each of the courses, including the schools and contact information, comprise Appendix A. Students were given a pre-and post-test survey supplemented by interviews of the students and instructors. The results of this survey, along with the questionnaire, are provided in Appendix B. These two appendixes are a worthwhile feature of the book and should not be overlooked by anyone desiring to undertake creation of similar coursework or programs.

The book is constructed in four parts. The first section (chapters 1–4) considers the theoretical foundations for teaching political engagement in U.S. higher education. Chapter 1 looks at the general landscape of citizenship and engagement of undergraduates. The second chapter critiques the role of higher education in preparing future citizens. It provides an honest appraisal of criticisms coming from diverse political factions in the academy. This critique sets the stage for chapters 3 and 4 to discuss the imperatives for Open Inquiry and how to create the environment for such inquiry to take place in classrooms, on campuses, and in communities.

The second part of Educating for Democracy (chapters 5–7) delves into the particular goals for teaching political engagement. The content domains of political knowledge and understanding beyond a basic civics course are provided in chapter 5. Practical skills are outlined as the next goal toward shaping students’ confidence in the dynamics of policy development. Written and oral presentations are a key feature of this goal. Chapter 7 concludes this section with approaches that foster political engagement resulting in lifelong citizens—the overarching goal...