Article: “Educating the "Good" Citizen: Political Choices and

Pedagogical Goals”
Author: Joel Westheimer; Joseph Kahne
Issue: Apr. 2004
Journal: PS: Political Science & Politics

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 Educating the “Good” Citizen:
Political Choices and Pedagogical
Goals
At the level of rhetoric, most educators, Shanker, then president of the American
policymakers, and citizens agree that devel- Federation of Teachers, had this to say in a
oping students’ capacities and commitments speech entitled “Education and Democratic
for effective and democratic citizenship is Citizenship”: “How can we fail to build a
important. When we get specific about what world in which the rights due to every human
democracy requires and about what kind of being from birth are respected? In order to
school curricula will best promote it, how- build this world . . . we must [have schools]
ever, much of that consensus falls away. For teach democracy (1986). Finally, President
some, a commitment to democracy is a George W. Bush recently established the
promise to protect liberal notions of freedom, National Veterans Awareness week and
while for others democracy is primarily about launched a new school program aimed at
equality or equality of opportunity. For some, rekindling our democratic spirit. He called
civil society is the key, while for others, free the program “Lessons of Liberty” in which,
markets are the great hope for a democratic in the words of the president: “Veterans will
society. For some, good citizens in a democ- visit elementary and high school classrooms
racy volunteer, while for others they take to teach the ideals of democracy and freedom
active parts in political processes by voting, that American servicemen have defended for
protesting, and working on political cam- over two centuries” (2001).
paigns. Each of these quotations takes seriously
It is not surprising, then, that the growing the idea that schools are essential for democ-
number of educational programs that seek to racy. Yet Bennett, Freire, Shanker, and Bush
further democracy by nurturing “good” each provide their own sense of what democ-
citizens embody a racy requires and how schools can help us
similarly broad variety of strengthen their respective—and often
by goals and practices. We competing—visions of a democratic society.
title this article “Educat- When educators, policymakers, politicians,
Joel Westheimer, ing the ‘Good’ Citizen” to and community activists pursue democracy,
University of Ottawa call attention to the they do so in many different ways and
Joseph Kahne, spectrum of ideas about towards many different ends.
what good citizenship is Students are no more in agreement on what
Mills College and what good citizens do good citizenship means than are teachers,
that are embodied by policy makers, or politicians. We asked
democratic education students in focus groups what it means to be
programs nationwide. We add the subtitle a good citizen. One in an urban California
“Political Choices and Pedagogical Goals” to school said: “Someone who’s active and
reflect our belief that the narrow and often stands up for what they believe in. If they
ideologically conservative conception of know that something’s going on that is
citizenship embedded in many current efforts wrong, they go out and change it.” But a
at teaching for democracy reflects neither student from a different urban California
arbitrary choices nor pedagogical limitations school told us that to be a good citizen, you
but rather political choices with political need to “follow the rules, I guess, as hard as
consequences. you can, even though you want to break them
Consider, for example, the following sometimes. Like cattle” (Kahne et al. 2003).
perspectives. In 1985, Bill Bennett, then For many educators, making the case for
secretary of education under Ronald Reagan, democracy and the important role schools
wrote: “A democracy depends on schools that have in pursuing it is not difficult. Political
help to foster a kind of character which scientists and civic educators alike are
respects the law and . . . respects the value of familiar with statistics documenting a
the individual” (1985). precipitous decline in voting rates, with the
That same year, in his book The Politics of biggest declines among young people.
Education: Culture, Power and Liberation, Political participation, such as working for a
Paulo Freire stated that, “Democracy requires political party, for example, is at a 40-year
oppressed groups to develop political low (Saguaro Seminar 2000). And targeting
determination, that is, to organize and what people do not know about civics
mobilize in order to achieve their own remains a favorite pastime of not only Jay
objectives. Education can make possible such Leno, but also of educators and politicians:
a democracy” (1985). The next year, Albert one study, by the National Constitution

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 241

Center, found that only 38% of respondents could name all theory and program goals and practices, we constructed a
three branches of government while a separate poll conducted framework to order some of the diverse perspectives. We
two years earlier found that 59% of all Americans could name found three visions of “citizenship” particularly helpful: the
the three stooges (Dudley and Gitelson 2002). Recent debates personally responsible citizen; the participatory citizen; and
about domestic security, individual liberties, and foreign the justice-oriented citizen (see Table 1).1
policy have further spurred educators to reexamine the role of
schools in educating students to be thoughtful and engaged
citizens. The Personally Responsible Citizen
One of the biggest areas of growth has been in the area of
service learning and community service. Such practices have The personally responsible citizen acts responsibly in his/
been marketed in large part through claims that they can her community by, for example, picking up litter, giving
respond to the civic mission of schools. Cities such as blood, recycling, volunteering, and staying out of debt. The
Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, as well as the entire personally responsible citizen works and pays taxes, obeys
state of Maryland, have created service and service learning laws, and helps those in need during crises such as snow-
requirements to advance such goals. Indeed, a recent survey storms or floods. The personally responsible citizen contrib-
by the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that utes to food or clothing drives when asked and volunteers to
83% of high schools currently offer community-service help those less fortunate whether in a soup kitchen or a senior
opportunities, compared with 27% in 1984. The visions of center. S/he might contribute time, money, or both to chari-
citizenship reflected in these and related civic education table causes.
policies and programs warrant careful attention. Both those in the character education movement and many
of those who advocate community service would emphasize
this individualistic vision of good citizenship. Programs that
seek to develop personally responsible citizens hope to build
Three Kinds of Citizens character and personal responsibility by emphasizing honesty,
integrity, self-discipline, and hard work (Mann 1838; and
What Kind of Citizen Do We Need to Support an currently proponents such as Lickona 1993; Wynne 1986).
Effective Democratic Society? The Character Counts! Coalition, for example, advocates
teaching students to “treat others with respect . . . deal
We examined 10 programs engaged in the Surdna peacefully with anger . . . be considerate of the feelings of
Foundation’s Democratic Values Initiative, as part of a multi- others . . . follow the Golden Rule . . . use good manners” and
year study of school-based programs that aim to teach so on. They want students not to “threaten, hit, or hurt anyone
democratic citizenship. From the study of both democratic [or use] bad language” (Character Counts! 1996). Other

Table 1
Kinds of Citizens

Personally Responsible Citizen Participatory Citizen Justice-oriented Citizen

Acts responsibly in his/her Active member of community organ- Critically assesses social, political, and
D E S C R I P T I O N

community izations and/or improvement efforts economic structures to see beyond

surface causes
Works and pays taxes Organizes community efforts to care for
those in need, promote economic Seeks out and addresses areas of
Obeys laws development, or clean up environment injustice

Recycles, gives blood Knows how government agencies work Knows about social movements and how
to effect systemic change
Volunteers to lend a hand in times Knows strategies for accomplishing
of crisis collective tasks
S A M P L E
A C T I O N

Contributes food to a food drive Helps to organize a food drive Explores why people are hungry and acts
to solve root causes
A S S U M P T I O N S

To solve social problems and To solve social problems and improve To solve social problems and improve
improve society, citizens must society, citizens must actively participate society, citizens must question and
CORE

have good character; they must and take leadership positions within change established systems and structures
be honest, responsible, and law- established systems and community when they reproduce patterns of injustice
abiding members of the structures over time
community

242 PS April 2004

programs that seek to develop personally responsible citizens support for ‘traditional’ families” or to “building greater
hope to nurture compassion by engaging students in volunteer support for ‘non-traditional’ families,” for example.
activities. As illustrated in the mission of the Points of Light The strongest proponents of the justice-oriented perspective
Foundation, these programs hope to “help solve serious social were likely the Social Reconstructionists who gained their
problems” by “engag[ing] more people more effectively in greatest hearing between the two world wars. Educators like
volunteer service” (Points of Light 2003). Harold Rugg (1921) argued that the teaching of history in
particular and the school curriculum more generally should be
developed in ways that connect with important and enduring
social problems. Similarly, George Counts wanted educators
The Participatory Citizen to critically assess varied social and economic institutions
Other educators see good citizens as those who actively while also “engag[ing] in the positive task of creating a new
participate in the civic affairs and the social life of the tradition in American life” (1932, 262). These educators
community at local, state, and national levels. We call this emphasized that truly effective citizens needed opportunities
kind of citizen the participatory citizen. Educational programs to analyze and understand the interplay of social, economic,
designed to support the development of participatory citizens and political forces and to take part in projects through which
focus on teaching students about how government and other they might develop skills and commitments for working
institutions (e.g., community based organizations, churches) collectively to improve society.2
work and about the importance of planning and participating
in organized efforts to care for those in need, for example, or Conflicting Priorities
in efforts to guide school policies. While the personally
responsible citizen would contribute cans of food for the Is it possible to pursue all three of these visions? Perhaps.
homeless, the participatory citizen might organize the food Might there be conflicts? Yes. Certainly participatory citizens
drive. or those committed to justice can simultaneously be depend-
In the tradition of Tocqueville, proponents of participatory able or honest. However, there may also be conflicts. The
citizenship argue that civic participation transcends particular emphasis placed on individual character and behavior, for
community problems or opportunities. It also develops example, can obscure the need for collective and often public
relationships, common understandings, trust, and collective sector initiatives.
commitments. This perspective, like Benjamin Barber’s
notion of “strong democracy,” adopts a broad notion of the
political sphere—one in which citizens “with competing but Citizenship without Politics: Service and Character,
overlapping interests can contrive to live together commu-
nally” (1984, 118).
But Not Democracy
A vast majority of school-based service learning and
community service programs embrace a vision of citizenship
The Justice-Oriented Citizen devoid of politics; they often promote service but not democ-
racy. They share an orientation toward volunteerism and
A third image of a good citizen is, perhaps, the perspective charity and away from teaching about social movements,
that is least commonly pursued. We refer to this view as the social transformation, and systemic change. These programs
justice-oriented citizen, one that calls explicit attention to privilege individual acts of compassion and kindness over
matters of injustice and to the importance of pursuing social social action and the pursuit of social justice.
justice goals. Justice-oriented citizens critically assess social, We find the emphasis placed on personal responsibility and
political, and economic structures and consider collective character an inadequate response to the challenges of educat-
strategies for change that challenge injustice and, when ing a democratic citizenry. Clearly, personal responsibility
possible, address root causes of problems. The vision of the traits commonly associated with character (telling the truth,
justice-oriented citizen shares with the vision of the participa- helping others, being polite) may strengthen a democracy by
tory citizen an emphasis on collective work related to the life fostering social trust and willingness to commit to collective
and issues of the community. However, these programs efforts, for example. We are not arguing against these goals
emphasize preparing students to improve society by critically (with the exception of certain visions of obedience that are
analyzing and addressing social issues and injustices. These sometimes associated with this agenda). Our point is rather
programs are less likely to emphasize the need for charity and that granting primacy to this goal can impede other funda-
volunteerism as ends in themselves and more likely to teach mentally important goals for civic educators. First, the
about social movements and how to affect systemic change emphasis placed on individual character and behavior can
(See, for example, Isaac 1992; Bigelow and Diamond 1988). obscure the need for collective and often public sector
In other words, if participatory citizens are organizing the initiatives; second, this emphasis can distract attention from
food drive and personally responsible citizens are donating analysis of the causes of social problems; and third,
food, justice-oriented citizens are asking why people are volunteerism and kindness are put forward as ways of
hungry and acting on what they discover. That today’s citizens avoiding politics and policy.
are “bowling alone” (Putnam 2000) would worry those As a way of illustrating what we see as the limitations of
focused on civic participation. Those who emphasize social personally responsible citizenship, recall the central tenets of
justice, however, would worry more that when citizens do get the Character Counts! Coalition. Certainly honesty, integrity,
together, they often fail to focus on or to critically analyze the and responsibility for one’s actions are valuable character
social, economic, and political structures that generate traits for good neighbors and citizens. (One might even argue
problems. This is not to say that justice-oriented citizens that citizens’ sense that other citizens are dishonest, irrespon-
necessarily promote a left-of-center perspective. One can sible, and lack common decency will undermine their desire
adopt a structural approach to “stemming the erosion of to participate in democratic processes.) Still, on their own,

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 243

these traits are not inherently about democracy. To the extent real sense, youth seem to be “learning” that citizenship does
that these traits detract from other important democratic not require government, politics, or even collective endeavors
priorities, they hinder rather than make possible democratic (see Andolina, Jenkins, Keeter, and Zukin 2002).
participation and change. For example, a focus on loyalty or It’s not that youth do not care to express their opinions. We
obedience (common components of character education as need only look at this season’s popular television show
well) work against the kind of critical reflection and action American Idol. Number of votes cast by young people for the
many assume are essential in a democratic society. next American idol? More than 24 million.3 Young people can
Consider Cesar Chavez Day in California. The state be motivated to act, but too many school-based programs
appropriated funds for students from across the state to stifle rather than stimulate collective and democratic attitudes
participate in a wide range of community service experiences and skills.
honoring Chavez. But the request for proposal to receive these Strikingly, research and evaluation of educational programs
monies included the following statement: also reflect this conservative and individualistic conception of
personally responsible citizenship. Major studies of civic
education programs, for example, ask participants whether
Although marches, religious services, and political advo-
they feel it is their responsibility to take care of those in need
cacy were important aspects of Chavez’s work, such
and whether problems of pollution and toxic waste are
activities do not constitute allowable activities under this
“everyone’s responsibility.” They rarely ask questions about
grant . . . Prohibited activities include: lobbying, marches,
corporate responsibility—in what ways industries should be
petitions, participating in events or activities that include
regulated, for example—or about ways government policies
advocacy legislation or party platforms.
can advance or hinder solutions to social problems. Survey
questions typically emphasize individual and charitable acts.
Such statements are common—indeed, all Americorps They ignore important influences like social movements and
members are prohibited from doing anything that engages the government policy on efforts to improve society (Kahne,
political system. Westheimer, and Rogers 2000).
Personal responsibility, voluntarism, and character educa- The vision promoted by most school-based initiatives and
tion must be considered in a broader social context or they the evaluations that judge their success is one of citizenship
risk advancing civility or docility instead of democracy. without politics—a commitment to service, but not to democ-
Indeed, government leaders in a totalitarian regime would be racy.
as delighted as leaders in a democracy if their young citizens
learned the lessons put forward by many of the proponents of Participatory and Justice-Oriented Goals
personally responsible citizenship: don’t do drugs; show up to
school; show up to work; give blood; help others during a Perhaps we are overstating the point. It may be true that the
flood; recycle; pick up litter; clean up a park; treat old people vast bulk of energy going into education for democracy and
with respect. The leaders of both China and Syria, as well as citizenship does so in a way that avoids political engagement.
leaders of democracies, would argue that these are desirable Alternatively, it may be that the programs that promote
traits for people living in a community. But they are not about personal responsibility or participatory citizenship enhance
democratic citizenship. commitments to the kind of civic engagement that will
Federally funded post 9/11 efforts at renewing citizenship ultimately strengthen our democracy. Proponents make this
have echoed similar themes while also emphasizing narrow argument, but how well does it hold up? We studied exactly
visions of patriotism. The Bush administration, for instance, this question. A brief description of our findings from two
wants a new role for civic education programs supported by programs will illustrate our point.4
the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Both programs worked with classes of high school students
new USA Freedom Corps—one tied to patriotism and and both initiatives were designed to support the development
homeland defense. of democratic and civic understandings and commitments. But
Nebraska offers a more far-reaching example. In November their goals and strategies differed. The first aims to develop
of 2001, two months after the terrorist attacks on the World participatory citizens, the second justice-oriented ones.
Trade Center, Nebraska’s State Board of Education specified
that high school social studies curriculum should, “include
instruction in . . . the benefits and advantages of our govern-
Participatory Citizens: The Madison County Service
ment, the dangers of communism and similar ideologies, the
duties of citizenship, and appropriate patriotic exercises, that League
middle-grade instruction should instill a love of country,” and The Madison County Youth Service League (a pseudonym)
that the social studies curriculum should include “exploits and is located in a suburban, largely white, east coast community
deeds of American heroes, singing patriotic songs, memoriz- outside of a city of roughly 23,000 people. One Madison
ing the Star Spangled Banner and America, and reverence for County group of students investigated whether citizens in
the flag” (Nebraska State Board of Education 2001). Indeed, their community would prefer curbside trash pickup that was
17 states enacted new pledge laws or amended policies in the organized by the county. Another group explored the develop-
2002–2003 legislative session (Piscatelli 2003). ment of a five-year plan for the fire and rescue department.
Recent studies of youth reflect this apolitical conception of For each project, students had to collect and analyze data,
citizenship as well. A study commissioned by the National interact with government agencies, write a report, and present
Association of Secretaries of State (1999) found that less than their findings in a formal hearing in front of the county’s
32% of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in Board of Supervisors.
the 1996 presidential election (in 1972, the comparable We saw evidence that the Madison County students learned
number was 50%), but that a whopping 94% of those aged a great deal about micro-politics, such as how different
15–24 believed that “the most important thing I can do as a government offices compete for funding. And students talked
citizen is to help others” (also see Sax et al. 1999). In a very about the powerful impact of realizing that what they did

244 PS April 2004

would or could make a difference. One student told us that those from Madison County, learned forms of civic involve-
before he started the program he thought it was “just going to ment that addressed macro-level critique of society. And, in
be another project [where] we do some research, we leave and interviews, students expressed a strong sense of the need to
it gets put on the shelf somewhere.” But he was pleasantly address these problems collectively rather than as individuals.
surprised at the extent of the impact their projects had on the One student observed that in most classrooms, “it seems like
community. “We’ve been in the newspaper,” another student everyone works as an individual to better themselves, but in
noted, “a lot!” The program was admirably successful in these this class, we’re working as a group to better everything
respects. around us.”
But we found little evidence that the Madison County In comparison to Madison County Youth Service League,
students learned about broader ideological and political issues the Bayside Students For Justice curriculum appeared to
related to interest groups and the political process, the causes emphasize social critique significantly more and technocratic
of poverty, different groups’ need for health care, or the skills associated with participation somewhat less. To the
fairness of different systems of taxation (even though two extent that Bayside students learned about participatory skills,
projects focused on issues related to health care and taxation). they focused on extra-governmental social activism that
Students focused on particular programs and policies and challenged rather than reinforced existing norms (such as
aimed for “technocratic/value neutral” analysis. Perhaps not community organizing or protesting). For example, students
surprisingly, our analysis of student interviews indicated that were more likely at the end of the program than at the
the curriculum did not appear to change students’ interest in beginning to posit structural explanations for social problems
politics or their perspectives on structural issues related to, for (stating, for example, that the problem of poverty resulted
example, possible causes of poverty. from too few jobs that pay wages high enough to support a
Quantitative results reinforced our findings from observa- family rather than being a result of individuals being lazy and
tions and interviews. Statistically significant gains were not wanting to work). Survey results also showed that while
recorded in several important areas, such as in the knowledge students who participated in Madison County Youth Service
and social capital needed for community development and League reported an increased sense of personal responsibility
students’ sense of civic efficacy—that they could make a to help others and sizable increases on measures related to
difference in their community. Madison County students also active participation, knowledge/social capital for community
increased their scores on our measures of personal responsi- development, and leadership efficacy, those in Bayside
bility and leadership efficacy. However, the program did not Students for Justice reported increased interest in politics and
alter students’ interest in political engagement. political issues, and were more likely to seek redress of root
causes of difficult social ills. As one student told us after
several months in the Bayside program, “when the economy’s
bad and people start blaming immigrants or whoever else they
Justice-Oriented Citizens: Bayside Students For can blame, they’ve got to realize that there are big social,
Justice economic, and political issues tied together, that it’s not the
immigrants, no it’s bigger than them.”
In the second program, politics took center stage. Bayside
Students For Justice is a curriculum
developed as part of a social studies
course in a large, urban, west coast high Table 2
school with a highly diverse student Pre/Post Changes
body. This program had goals oriented
around improving society through Madison County Bayside Students
structural changes. As one of the teachers Measures Youth Service League For Justice (N=21)
for this program put it, “My goal is to (N=61)
empower [students] to focus on things CHANGE (pre/post)†
that they care about in their own lives and CHANGE (pre/post) †

to . . . show them avenues that they can

use to achieve real social change, Personal Responsibility .09 (3.84/3.93) .21* (4.00/4.21)
profound social change.” The program To Help Others
advanced a justice-oriented vision of Knowledge/Social Capital .94** (3.95/4.89) .17 (2.76/2.93)
citizenship. For Community Develop-
Some students investigated the lack of ment
access to a local health care center for
women. Others sought ways to challenge Leadership Efficacy .12 (3.13/3.25) .31** (3.60/3.91)
a Senate bill that would put students and
Interest in Politics .03 (3.41/3.44) .33* (2.68/3.01)
their parents in jail for truancy and would
try juveniles as adults for certain crimes. Structural/Individual -.10 (3.13/3.03) .28* (3.88/4.16)
Others studied the social, political, and Explanations For Poverty
economic causes and consequences of
violence in their community. Civic Efficacy .34** (3.78/4.12) .47* (3.03/3.50)
Like their Madison County peers, the Gov’t Responsibility .24* (3.10/3.34) .29* (3.19/3.48)
Bayside students expressed a passion for For Those In Need
the real-world connections to their
Vision To Help .30* (2.65/2.95) .36 (2.43/2.79)
academic studies. But these students
appeared to take away different lessons. *p < .05; **p < .01; Pre and Post surveys were administered to all program participants
†

Our survey results show that Bayside (for a detailed discussion of these measures and findings, see Westheimer and Kahne
students, to a much greater degree than 2004).

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 245

The Politics of Pursuing Dual Goals important as traditional academic priorities. We must also ask
what kind of values. What political and ideological interests
As noted earlier, those committed to educating social are embedded in varied conceptions of citizenship?
activists who practice justice-oriented citizenship would First, school programs that hope to develop personally
ideally want to couple critical analysis of root causes of responsible citizens may not be effective at increasing
injustice with opportunities to develop capacities for partici- participation in local and national civic affairs. In fact, efforts
pation. They want students to be able to both analyze and to pursue some conceptions of personal responsibility can
understand structural causes of deeply entrenched social undermine efforts to prepare participatory and justice-oriented
problems and gain the skills and motivation to act by partici- citizens.
pating in local and national politics and community forums. Second, the study of the Madison County Youth Service
But a focus on justice guarantees neither the motivation nor League and of Bayside Students for Justice demonstrates the
the capacity to participate in democratic change. Many— importance of distinguishing between programs that empha-
ourselves included—would applaud programs that manage to size participatory citizenship and those that emphasize the
emphasize justice-oriented citizenship inextricably linked to a pursuit of justice. While each program was effective in
desire and capacity for participation. However, our findings achieving its goals, qualitative and quantitative data regarding
indicate that engaging in critical analysis does not necessarily these programs demonstrated important differences in each
foster the ability or the commitment to participate. The program’s impact. Programs that champion participation do
reverse is also true: students can learn to participate without not necessarily develop students’ abilities to analyze and
engaging in critical analysis that focuses on macro structural critique root causes of social problems and vice versa.
issues, the role of interest groups, power dynamics, and/or Although many committed to the democratic purposes of
social justice. The ability to spot injustice is not organically education may extol the value of linking priorities related to
linked to the inclination or the ability to take action5 . participation and justice, our study indicates that this outcome
The relative emphasis placed on these differing goals will is not guaranteed. If both goals are priorities, those designing
likely depend on numerous factors. These include: the structure and implementing curriculum must give both explicit atten-
of the curriculum, the priorities of those designing and imple- tion.
menting the initiative, and the time available for such instruction. Finally, although most current programs are aimed only at
Moreover, the political constraints and value-based priorities of personally responsible citizenship, educating for democratic
both administrators and community members are also likely to citizenship is possible. 6 Those of us who design and teach
affect the structure of the curriculum. these curricula and those studying its impact must be aware of
different—and at times conflicting—visions of citizenship
Conclusion and their political implications. Democracy is not self-
winding. Students need to be taught to participate in our
So, what does this mean for teaching democracy? For those democracy and different programs aim at different goals. We
of us interested in schooling’s civic purposes, we maintain need to choose carefully. The choices we make have conse-
that it is not enough to argue that democratic values are as quences for the kind of society we ultimately help to create.

Notes

* This article was adapted from a talk by the authors at the conference of (Kahne and Westeimer 1996). Through the course of our work, however, it
the American Political Science Association, August 2002, Boston MA, became clear that this distinction did not do enough to capture main currents
where it received Outstanding Paper of the Year Award from the division on in dialogues of practitioners and scholars regarding democratic educational
teaching and learning. The research was generously supported by the Surdna goals and ways to achieve them (see also Westheimer and Kahne 2000). In
Foundation with additional support from the Social Sciences and Humanities addition, once our three categories were identified, we found that some of
Research Council of Canada. Parts of this paper are adapted from a more our rhetoric failed to clearly convey our intent. For example, we had initially
detailed analysis of our data which will be published this summer (2004) in titled our third category the “social reconstructionist.” As a result of
the American Educational Research Journal. For help in structuring Table 1 dialogues with practitioners this was changed to the “social reformer” and
the authors are indebted to James Toole and a focus group of Minnesota finally to the “justice-oriented citizen.” In making these distinctions, we do
teachers. The authors can be reached at [email protected] and not mean to imply that a given program might not simultaneously further
[email protected]. more than one of these agendas. These categories were not designed to be
1. These categories were chosen because they satisfied our three main mutually exclusive. At the same time, we believe that drawing attention to
criteria: 1) they aligned well with prominent theoretical perspectives the distinctions between these visions of citizenship is important. It
described above, 2) they highlight important differences in the ways highlights the importance of examining the underlying goals and assump-
educators conceive of democratic educational aims; that is, they frame tions that drive different educational programs in design and practice.
distinctions that have significant implications for the politics of education for 2. For a description of a contemporary curriculum that reflects this
democracy, and 3) they articulate ideas and ideals that resonate with emphasis, see Westheimer and Kahne 2002.
practitioners (teachers, administrators, and curriculum designers). To that 3. Martha Paskoff, “Idol Worship: What American Politics Can Learn
end, we consulted with both the 10 teams of educators whose work we From American Idol,” American Prospect Online, May 23, 2003.
studied and with other leaders in the field in an effort to create categories and 4. For a more detailed report of the study, see Westheimer and Kahne 2004
descriptions that aligned well with and communicated clearly their differing or contact the authors at [email protected] or [email protected].
priorities. Our desire to respond to prominent educational theories related to 5. For a related study see Kahne, Chi, and Middaugh 2003.
democratic ideals and to develop a framework that practitioners would find 6. See Joseh Kahne and Joel Westheimer, “Teaching Democracy: What
both clear and meaningful led us to modify our categories in several ways. Schools Need to Do” (Phi Delta Kappan. September, 2003) for an explora-
For example, we began this study emphasizing a distinction between tion of the strategies effective programs use to teach for democratic
“charity” and “change.” We had used this distinction in earlier writing citizenship.

246 PS April 2004

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APSA Minority Identification Project: Core Schools
In 1989, APSA established the Minority Identification (MID) Project as part of its efforts to diversify the political
science profession. A collaboration of undergraduate and graduate political science departments, the MID
Project seeks to identify talented undergraduate minorities interested in being recruited to doctoral programs.

CORE GRADUATE SCHOOLS

Since its inception, the number of graduate Participating Graduate Programs
programs participating in the MID Project has
grown to include 48 Ph.D.-conferring institu- • University of California, • University of Minnesota
tions. These Core Schools are the only Berkeley • University of Missouri,
institutions with the ability to search the MID Davis Columbia
database to recruit students. For a flat annual Irvine • University of New Mexico
fee of $150, these schools can access the Los Angeles • University of New Orleans
database, take part in MID activities at the San Diego • New School University
APSA Annual Meeting, and receive reports Santa Barbara • New York University
and mailing labels from APSA. Any institution • University of Chicago • University of North Carolina,
with a Departmental Services Program (DSP) • Colorado State University Chapel Hill
membership has the ability to submit students • University of Colorado, • Northwestern University
to the database. Boulder • Ohio State University
• Columbia University • University of Pennsylvania
BENEFITS • Cornell University • Pennsylvania State University
Several excellent benefits for participating as • Duke University • Princeton University
a Core School include: • Emory University • University of Rochester
• Rutgers University
‡ Advertising your program on the APSA
• George Washington
University • University of Southern
website; • Harvard University California
‡ Use of the MID database to recruit • University of Illinois, Urbana/ • Syracuse University
talented minority students from across the Champaign • University of Texas, Austin
country to your program; • Indiana University • Texas A&M University
• University of Iowa • Vanderbilt University
‡ Easy-to-use reports generated from the
• Johns Hopkins University • University of Virginia
APSA membership database; and • University of Maryland • University of Washington,
‡ Participation at the Minority Identification • University of Massachusetts, Seattle
Breakfast, a networking event held at the Amherst • Washington State University
Annual Meeting where the chairs of each • MIT • University of Wisconsin,
participating Core School discuss the MID • Miami University Madison
Project and other issues related to • University of Michigan • Yale University
diversifying the profession.

BECOMING A CORE SCHOOL

To participate as a Core School in the MID Project, APSA asks that you do the following:
‡ Pay a flat fee of $150 every fall. This fee will cover your access to the database, reports and mailing labels,
and your department chair’s attendance at the Annual Meeting breakfast.
‡ Participate as a virtual mentor on our MID list-serv. This entails responding periodically to questions
students have about your program and, more generally, the graduate school application process.
‡ Use the reports and labels APSA provides to recruit minority students to your graduate program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.apsanet.org/about/minority/
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