Groups Boosting Civics Education & Engaging Young Voters

Revitalizing Civics Education

Younger voters have the most to lose from a dysfunctional democracy and the most to gain from a well-functioning democracy. Yet, in spite of their outsized stake, those 29 and younger often vote and otherwise participate in our democratic process at significantly lower rates than voters 59 and older. The interests of the long-term future are in this way systematically underrepresented. Compounding this problem, the young today have received far less education in the fundamentals of how our system works than was typically the case a generation or two ago. They have also gotten very little historical step-by-step explanation for how and why over the last century we have developed the government, laws and regulations we have.

What they have been treated to instead is a flagrant display of dysfunction, bad faith, and outright dishonesty sufficient to make some young people recoil from politics in disgust. A robust civics education paired with proactive steps to engage young eligible voters are thus an important part of making democracy work.

If the young don't want a future foisted on them by the old, a future the old won't themselves have to suffer, they had best engage as if everything they wish for in life were on the line. Because it is.

Center for Information & Research: Civic Learning & Engagement

A treasure trove of valuable information (facts, insights, priorities), the Center focuses on engaging young voters and prospective new voters. An outgrowth of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, it offers resources to support K-12 Civic Education. The Center also works with the Teaching For Democracy Alliance for large-scale improvements in youth civics education. They provide resources to support teachers and local advocates.

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Tisch College of Civic Life

The only university-wide college of its kind, Tisch promotes the civic and political engagement of young people. Their mission is to shift college and university priorities everywhere to strengthen democracy and advance equity, and they pursue their goals through research, resource development, and advocacy of increased opportunities for political learning and engagement. They host and guide the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education and sponsor the annual Frontiers of Democracy Conference. The Talloires Network, launched by and housed at Tisch, promotes civic engagement by students at more than 350 colleges and universities.

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Civics Renewal Network

The Network offers thousands of high-quality, no-cost learning materials. It is a consortium of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations committed to strengthening civic life by increasing the quality of civics education in schools. It provides resources for teaching about voting and elections, about the foundations of democracy, about related historical milestones, and much more. On its website, teachers can find the best resources of the consortium’s members, searchable by subject, grade, resource type, standards, and teaching strategy.

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iCivics

iCivics exists to engage students in meaningful civic learning by providing teachers with inventive free resources written to enhance their teaching and inspire their classrooms. It also provides activity suggestions and resources to support civic learning at home, a package of resources for kids to learn about their own communities over summer vacation, a special collection of resources for elementary students called Private i History Detectives, and much more.

Visit the iCivics website >>

Note that several other university-based centers and institutes undertake similar efforts at civic education and engagement. Some of these are listed on Promoting Democracy At Institutes & Centers.

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D.C.
Published: August 2019
Revised: July 2023
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