OVp129 Critical Issues in Democratic Citizenship Education
Autumn 2022
Dr. Elizabeth Anne Washington, Professor of Social Studies Education
ewashington@coe.ufl.edu
OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
This course is designed to engage teacher-scholars in critical issues centered around the place of
schooling in a robust, deliberative democracy. We will consider the climate of political
polarization, attacks on the nature of the public sphere, race and class segregation as
determinants of what kind of civic education students will get, and the challenges of teaching
controversial issues. We will explore theoretical, political, and educational perspectives, while
maintaining a focus on classroom teachers and the challenging work they do to prepare students
for participation in a vibrant civic culture. My additional goals are to facilitate your use of this
body of work to inform your own scholarship and teaching, and to support your skills and
confidence in facilitating and participating in scholarly discussions with peers. I am also
available to help you develop a scholarly research agenda if you are considering further graduate
studies.
You will see the guiding question(s) for each week at the top of the schedule for that week
(located in the IS MU).
Ultimately, our goal is to explore a variety of models for critical perspectives on democratic
citizenship education, so that you can draw your own conclusions about what you want your
model to look like in your own classroom.
USING A SOCIAL JUSTICE LENS TO VIEW DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP
EDUCATION
 I believe that democracy is not an end goal in and of itself. Rather, it is a means for
achieving social justice.
 I believe that this course provides an appropriate forum to discuss social justice issues
from a critical pedagogy standpoint. When I use the word “critical,” I do not mean that
we are going to condemn every idea that comes along, with no apparent purpose in mind
except to be negative. Critical pedagogy can be exciting and illuminating!
Critical Pedagogy
Critical pedagogy is a teaching approach which attempts to help students question and challenge
domination, and the beliefs and practices that dominate. In other words, it is a theory and
practice of helping students achieve critical consciousness. Critical pedagogic educator Ira Shor
defines critical pedagogy as:
Habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first
impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional cliches, received wisdom, and
mere opinions, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social context, ideology, and
personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text,
subject matter, policy, mass media, or discourse.
In this tradition, the teacher works to lead students to question ideologies and practices
considered oppressive (including those at school) and encourage liberatory collective and
individual responses to the actual conditions of their own lives. The student often begins as a
member of the group or process (including religion, national identity, cultural norms, or expected
roles) they are critically studying. The next behavior encouraged is sharing this knowledge with
the attempt to change the oppressive nature of the society.
Social Justice Teaching
We are all socialized in a culture that normalizes and justifies inequitable power hierarchies,
such as racism and classism. Using a social justice lens requires us to challenge these hierarchies
in favor of more just and equitable outcomes. For this reason, teaching is an inherently political
act; to not challenge or recognize these hierarchies is to support the status quo. New teachers
perceive social pressures from their administrators, parents, and colleagues to implement
politically palatable curriculum and instruction.
Given these pressures, it is important to ground our social justice lens in academic research.
Official curricular structures in place, such as pacing guides, textbooks, and standards, do not
often center social justice concepts. For this reason, one of the main objectives of this class is to
critically examine existing structures, while finding ways to integrate citizenship/civic education
concepts that spark reflection and action both inside and outside of the classroom.
Pedagogy that supports social justice encourages students to challenge and analyze the
knowledge they are presented with. More often than not, students from lower socio-economic
backgrounds are more likely to define knowledge as “remembering things” or “doing pages in
our workbooks”, whereas students from affluent schools define knowledge as “thinking of new
ideas” and “figuring things out.” By teaching learners of all backgrounds in ways that promote
critical thinking and inquiry, teachers are enacting social justice. Democratic social justice does
not only require the integration of important social issues into the curriculum; it also requires that
teachers facilitate the construction of student knowledge through inquiry, collaboration, critical
examinations of master narratives and counter-narratives. This class promotes social studies
teaching that is aligned with these goals, deliberative problem solving, and social action learning.
To Keep in Mind Throughout the Course
 This is not a methods course. This is an advanced course in which you will be reading a
variety of research studies that are very descriptive. I curated readings that I think have a
good story to tell. Most of these readings are based on research in “real world” classroom
settings, where the voices of teacher and student participants are prominent. For the
readings that are more theoretical/conceptual, we will explore implications for the
classroom.
 I do not claim an exhaustive coverage of democratic citizenship issues. I selected some
exemplars that have emerged in the research literature on democratic citizenship/civic
education because they are interesting. They are not meant to be the “last word” on the
subject – just some great food for thought and hopefully a challenge for your thinking.
 In thinking about what to include, I may have neglected to include something important
to you. If you notice anything, please reach out so that I can address it.
CLASS FORMAT
There are 12 class meetings in this course. Each week includes readings, other types of
resources, and discussions in which you are required to participate. To proceed through the
course, simply follow the assignments for each week in the order in which they are listed.
Class discussions will be structured around the readings and other resources in each week of the
semester. We will take turns leading discussions, and we will focus on synthesizing ideas and
themes within and across readings. We will also talk about how you can apply new ideas to your
own work and experience in education.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
This is a Pass/Fail course. The breakdown of assignments is as follows:
1. The first condition for receiving your grade is attendance and informed, active
participation in seminar discussions. This includes being prepared for class by completing
and referring to the readings in the discussions, as well as listening and commenting
respectfully. You are allowed two absences without having to provide an excuse.
2. The second condition for receiving your grade is your presentation/discussion leader
assignment.
 When you are a presentation/discussion leader, prepare a handout about your
assigned reading. This should be concise (about one page or so). Preview the
reading in three ways: A) provide a short summary of the reading; B) provide a
few specific focus questions to guide us through the reading; and C) provide a
bullet point outline of the reading. Please email your handout to me on the Friday
before your presentation so that I can share it with the entire class.
 Do an informal presentation about your assigned reading. Go over your handout
with us and do a quick introduction of your readings; b) discuss how the reading
addresses your focus questions and what the author(s) concluded; and c) spend
most of your time on your reflections/critique of the reading. What did you take
away from the reading? What did it mean to you, both personally and as an
educator? Have you had classroom experiences relevant to the reading? Was there
anything in the reading that you felt strongly about, either positive or negative?
 Prepare three questions for the week’s discussion. Don’t write questions that ask
us to simply summarize what we read. Help us to dig deeper into the readings,
and to analyze and critique the content. In other words, you will have a turn to
plan and moderate the questions so that we can engage in dialogue and respond to
each other’s ideas. I will be participating/responding, but not playing the lead
role.
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU WITH YOUR PRESENTATION:
What is the author trying to convince you of?
What did you agree with? Why?
What did you disagree with? Why?
What was something that made you say, “Ah, that makes sense!”?
What was something that did not make sense to you, or that you did not understand?
If you were to chat with the author, what question(s) might you want to ask?
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
 Assignments should be submitted on IS MU by the indicated due date and time.
 If your work is late because of illness, please provide a doctor’s note.
 You must complete all assignments. You may not opt out of an assignment.
 I am always willing to discuss your ideas with you in advance and provide timely
feedback.
 Do NOT submit late work without communicating with me first.
 Carefully edit, proofread, and format your work so that it looks professional and neat.
 By no means am I claiming to have the “right answers” on all aspects of the content. We
may have more questions than answers, but I regard this as a good thing because these
questions can stimulate our thinking as we go forward as educators. I will push you a bit
(politely, of course!) to dive deeper into ideas and issues, and I hope you will push each
other and me in a similar manner.
 I do not benefit materially from adopting these course materials.
 I am very confident that we will maintain civility and meaningful engagement with each
other. If any issues arise, I will reach out to you privately to resolve the issue to our
mutual satisfaction.
COURSE CALENDAR
NOTE: Articles (PDFs) are in IS MU in the order listed below. Everything else (e.g., web
resources with links to videos) will be discussed in class and do not have to be done before
class. Also note that you have two short readings due on the first day of class.
Start of
Week
Guiding Questions To Read for Class
September
19
Week 1
What will we do in this course?
Why does civic education matter?
INTRODUCTIONS
Please share your preferred name/nickname,
where you live/teach/study, maybe something
special about family, partners, friends, and/or
animal companions, and an interesting fact about
yourself. Also, when was the first time (if ever)
you felt like a citizen?
GO OVER COURSE SYLLABUS
Assignments
Grading
Class policies
DISCUSS:
John Roberts article
Sonia Sotomayor article
Read CNN article on U.S.
Chief Justice John Roberts
(PDF)
Read NBC News article on
U.S. Justice Sonia
Sotomayor (PDF)
September
26
Week 2
No class – Dr. Washington in Praha for
Fulbright Scholars Orientation
None
October 3
Week 3
What is critical pedagogy, and why is it
relevant to civic education?
What makes a “good” citizen in a
democracy?
WARMUP:
Intro to Critical Pedagogy video
BRIEF LECTURE:
“Critical Pedagogy” by Dr. Washington
DISCUSS:
Westheimer and Kahne article
Read Westheimer and
Kahne article, “What Kind
of Citizen: The Politics of
Educating for Democracy”
(PDF)
October 10
Week 4
What contextual issues in U. S. society are
putting democratic citizenship education
at risk?
WARMUP:
“How to Revive Your Belief in Democracy”
TED Talk
DISCUSS:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article
DISCUSS:
Sleeter article
Read Time Magazine article
on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
(PDF)
Read Sleeter article,
“Teaching for Democracy
in an Age of
Corporatocracy” (PDF)
October 17
Week 5
What does some of the research say about
how teacher beliefs shape democratic
citizenship/civic education (Part 1)?
WARMUP:
Watch Eve Pearlman TED Talk, “How to
Lead a Conversation Between People Who
Disagree”
DISCUSS:
Castro article
Read Castro article, “What
Makes a Citizen? Critical
and Multicultural
Citizenship and Preservice
Teachers’ Understandings
of Citizenship Skills” (PDF)
October 24
Week 6
No class – Reading Week None
October 31
Week 7
What does some of the research say about
how teacher beliefs shape democratic
citizenship/civic education (Part 2)?
WARMUP:
Michael Sandel TED Talk, “The Lost Art of
Democratic Debate”
DISCUSS:
Pace article
Read student handout for
Week 7
Read Pace article,
“Contained Risk Taking:
Preparing Preservice
Teachers to Teach
Controversial Issues” (PDF)
November 7
Week 8
What are some issues related to the civic
identities of young people (Part 1)?
WARMUP:
Read student handout for
Week 8
Read Clark article,
“Examining the
Listen to Civics 101 podcast, “Student Free
Speech Rights”
WATCH/LISTEN/PARTICIPATE:
Student presentation and discussion of Clark
article
Relationship Between Civic
Education and Partisan
Alignment in Young
Voters” (PDF)
November 14
Week 9
What are some issues related to the civic
identities of young people (Part 2)?
WARMUP:
Watch Noah Tesfaye TED Talk, “Restoring
Youth Civic Engagement”
WATCH/LISTEN/PARTICIPATE:
Student presentation and discussion of
Johnson article
Read student handout for
Week 9
Read Johnson article,
“Trump, Kaepernick, and
MLK as “Maybe Citizens”:
Early Elementary African
American Males’ Analysis
of Citizenship” (PDF)
November 21
Week 10
How/what do students learn and
experience in a civics classroom (Part 1)?
WARMUP:
Watch Dr. Banaji TED Talk, “Young People,
the Internet, and Civic Participation”
WATCH/LISTEN/PARTICIPATE:
Student presentation and discussion of Ho &
Barton article
Read student handout for
Week 10
Read Ho & Barton,
“Preparation for Civil
Society: A Necessary
Element of Curriculum for
Social Justice” (PDF)
November 28
Week 11
How/what do students learn and
experience in a civics classroom (Part 2)?
WARMUP:
“What Does it Mean to be a Citizen of the
World?”
WATCH/LISTEN/PARTICIPATE:
Student presentation and discussion of Osler
article
Read student handout for
Week 11
Read Osler, “Human Rights
Education: Postcolonial
Scholarship and Action for
Social Justice” (PDF)
December 5
Week 12
How might we think about moving
towards a critical pedagogy for democratic
citizenship education (Part 1)?
WARMUP:
Read student handout for
Week 12
Read Gibson article, “From
Deliberation to CounterNarration:
Toward a
New York Times article, “Politically Engaged
Schools”
WATCH/LISTEN/PARTICIPATE:
Student presentation and discussion of
Gibson article
Critical Pedagogy for
Democratic Citizenship”
(PDF)
New York Times article,
“What Students Are Saying
About Politics in School”
(PDF)
This will be read in class –
no need to read ahead of
time.
December 12
Week 13
How might we think about moving
towards a critical pedagogy for democratic
citizenship education (Part 2)?
WATCH/LISTEN/PARTICIPATE:
Student presentation and discussion of Clay
& Rubin article
CLOSING:
“The Consciousness Gap in Education: An
Equity Imperative”
BRIEF REMARKS:
“Looking Ahead” by Dr. Washington
Read student handout for
Week 13
Read Clay & Rubin article,
“I Look Deep into This
Stuff Because it is a Part of
Me: Toward A Critically
Relevant Civics Education”
PDF)