Joseph Kahne
Director
Joseph Kahne is the Ted and Jo Dutton Presidential Professor for Education Policy and Politics and Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG) at the University of California, Riverside. Professor Kahne's research focuses on the influence of school practices and digital media on youth civic and political development. For example, with funding from the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES), and in partnership with scholars from Ohio State, Brown, and UCR, CERG has launched and is studying the impact of Connecting Classrooms to Congress (CC2C). CC2C is a social studies curricular unit that enables students to learn and deliberate about a controversial societal issue and then participate in an online townhall with their Member of Congress. In addition, Kahne and CERG are currently engaged in related studies of efforts to promote youth voice, lived civics, and a broad vision of social studies reform tied to the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap. This work takes place through partnerships with reformers and school districts in CA, IL, NM, OK, FL, and CO. In addition to studying the impact of these curricular experiences on young people’s civic development, with John Rogers, we are currently devoting particular attention to the politics of democratic education. We are examining ways the political contexts of school districts shape possibilities for educational reform and the varied ways educators respond.
Professor Kahne was Chair of the MacArthur Foundation’s Youth and Participatory Politics Research Network. Kahne was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. He currently chairs the Educating for American Democracy Research Task Force. Professor Kahne is a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. He can be reached at jkahne@ucr.edu and his work is available at https://www.civicsurvey.org/
Publications
Facing Partisanship Conflict: How Social Studies Educators Can Lead Towards a Diverse Democracy
California’s Commitment to K-12 Civic Learning: A 2022 Assessment
Accessing the State of Media Literacy Policy in U.S. K-12 Schools
Responding to Intolerance: Leadership for a Multiracial Democracy
Blended Spaces: Reimagining Civic Education in a Digital Era
Do Politics in Our Democracy Prevent Schooling for Our Democracy?
Rethinking Digital Citizenship: Learning About Media, Literacy, and Race in Turbulent Times
Leading for Democracy: A Vital Agenda for Public School Principals
Reclaiming the Democratic Purpose of California’s Public Schools
The Digital Dimensions of Civic Education: Assessing the Effects of Learning Opportunities
Can media literacy education increase digital engagement in politics?
Democracy for some: The civic opportunity gap in high school
Digital Media Literacy Education and Online Civic and Political Participation
Is Patriotism Good for Democracy? A Study of High School Seniors' Patriotic Commitments
Let's Go There: Making a Case for Race, Ethnicity and a Lived Civics Approach to Civic Education
Misinformation in the Information Age: What Teachers Can Do to Support Students
Participatory Politics: New Media and Youth Political Action
Revisiting the Measurement of Political Participation for the Digital Age
Service Learning Required: But What Exactly Do Students Learn?
Study Finds Sizable Impact of Civic Media Literacy Education on Democratic Engagement
The Limits of Political Efficacy: Educating Citizens for a Democratic Sociaety
The Political Significance of Online Activities and Social Networks
U Suk! Participatory Media and Youth Experiences With Political Discourse
What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy
When young people get involved in online communities, it leads them toward politics
Young Adult Voting Skyrocketed in 2018. What Can We Do To Make It Happen Again?
Youth Internet Use and Recruitment into Civic and Political Participation