“Adolescent Engagement in Civic Education” is a participatory, action research and fact-finding study led by Graduate School of Education (GSE) Innovation in Curriculum and Instruction (ICI) doctoral students in collaboration with the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham’s School of Law. The collaboration between the GSE and the law school on this project began two years ago when Fordham Lincoln Center’s Saturday Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) assistant director, Evonny Escoto, approached the law school about bringing lawyers in to work with the doctoral students, specifically in support of the GSE’s work on the adolescent engagement portion of STEP’s proposed civic engagement program.
“We started a civic engagement study for STEP students,” Escoto says, “because it’s important to understand how civics education is being taught to be able to work to fill in the gaps for students. Providing young people with information about our democratic process will hopefully increase the number of voters in not only presidential elections, but also local and state elections. Access to reliable information and newfound knowledge about the systems of government will help students feel confident about voting and create a sense of responsibility to do so.”
The overall goal of the civic education program is to improve the quality of civic education at large by delivering content while using innovative and comprehensive topics. The study is designed to improve public knowledge, understanding, and support of the federal and state legislatures. Ultimately, the civic education project is based on the premise that exemplary civic education, which focuses on the role and function of the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, produces knowledgeable adults who confidently participate in the democratic process. The study’s manuscript, a result of the collaboration, will focus on civic education and social justice for students who are part of populations underrepresented in the field, and is slated for publication this summer as part of the 15-year anniversary of the Feerick Center.
GSE associate dean Diane Rodriguez, Ph.D., mentor to the students working on the program, appreciates this additional opportunity to collaborate with the Fordham School of Law. Previously, the GSE received legal advice from the law school about Every Girl Is Important, a non-profit organization founded by Rodriguez currently building a boarding school for girls ages 11 to 17 in rural Kenya’s Eldoret community. For this project, she is “grateful to guide research and the doctoral students’ future careers. As researchers in the field, it is critical for these students to both understand the research process and know how to apply data to their educational practices.”
Lead doctoral student for the study Robert Niewiadomski notes, “Our society is undergoing a period of uncertainty and restlessness as the established norms of political engagement fade and democratic norms crumble. It is clear that democracy cannot function without informed citizens. Therefore, civic education has to be at the center of any discussion about democracy. However, right now that does not appear to be the case, which constitutes a major flaw in our educational system. Our research shows that very young middle school students realize there is a great void in their education.” He adds, “During the study, students talked about school experiences that did not value their contributions, curiosity, sense of agency, and yearning to recognize crucial social justice issues with which our society grapples. Young people want to hear about ideology, culture, power, and authority.” He concludes, “Rethinking how we approach civic education, agency, engagement, democratic participation, and resistance to societal oppression is ultimately an opportunity to re-imagine the future.”
Specifically, the ICI doctoral students conducted the initial research study for the program during a conference at Fordham this spring, with a group of middle school students who participate in the STEP program. The middle school students were asked questions created by the Feerick Center and the ICI students, focusing on what the children know about civic education, what they consider to be civic education, and what they think is important about civic education. In addition, the ICI students completed a literature review, took notes from the interviews, led a discussion with the students, collected and analyzed the qualitative data, and are now summarizing their findings to be presented as a research paper and ultimately submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal.
Study Leaders: Theodora Galacatos, Director, Feerick Center for Social Justice, Fordham Law; ICI Doctoral Student Mentor: GSE Associate Dean Diane Diane Rodriguez, Ph.D.; Research Lead: Robert Niewiadomski; Data Collection: Ksenia Anisimova; Data Analysis: Lovell Quiroz; Literature Reviewers: Clarence Ball; Graham Johnson; Eva Montas; Sandra Puglisi; Luz Velasco; Jianing Li; Saturday STEP program: Evonny Escoto.
