EdSource

This year’s presidential election exposed a public largely ignorant of the basics of the democratic process. Erica Hodgin, co-author of a new report by UC Riverside and UCLA on the sad state of civics education in schools, suggests ways to rejuvenate it, including a new incentive, the State Seal of Civic Engagement.

by Leah Bueso and Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg

Whether you’re ready to admit it or not, this election is going to affect your classroom. You may not teach about voting or even be a social studies teacher, but the reality is that today’s political ethos stirs up worry, hope, excitement, and uncertainty in students, and likely, you too.

by John Rogers, Joe Kahne, and Erica Hodgin

In 2014, the voting rates for young adults plunged to their lowest point in close to 40 years, with less than 20 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds turning out at the polls.

by Joseph Kahne

Youth, through efforts that leverage the power of social media, are often driving many of the most important social movements of our era — from the #Dreamers, to #BlackLivesMatter, to the push for gun control and #NeverAgain.

Education Week

The social ­media revolution has transformed American politics more than any other aspect of our culture, with political fortunes made and lost on a well­placed or ill­ crafted Tweet.

by Erica Hodgin, Carrie James, and Sangita Shresthova

The potential of digital media to bring about a more equitable democracy won’t be fully realized unless we ensure that all young people have access to high quality digital civic learning opportunities.

Visions of Education

In this episode, Dan and Michael chat with Erica Hodgin and Joe Kahne about their Social Education publication, “Misinformation in the Information Age: What Teachers Can Do to Support Students.”

Teaching Tolerance’s The Mind Online

Social media sometimes reveals the worst of humanity. But we also see people—especially youth—using it for necessary change. Erica Hodgin and Joe Kahne talk empowerment and civic engagement through digital media. 

Educator Innovator

Listen in as we discuss the Digital Civics Toolkit, a collection of resources for educators to support youth in exploring, recognizing, and taking seriously the civic potentials of digital life.

USA Today

Many American high schoolers do not blame school shooting on guns and don't argue the answer is tighter restrictions on firearms. It's a view at odds with many of their classmates, yet born from the same safety concerns.

Education Week

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas students-turned-activists are fast becoming a powerful model of civic engagement for educators in the country.

Wired

Fake news isn't just Macedonian teenagers or internet trolls. A long standing network of bogus "think tanks" raise disinformation to a pseudoscience, and their studies pull quotes and flashy stats that become the "evidence" driving viral, fact-free stories.

Slate

When the AP United States history students at Aragon High School in San Mateo, California, scanned the professionally designed pages of minimumwage.com, most concluded that it was a solid, unbiased source of facts and analysis.

Edutopia

After decades of decline, civics education may be staging a comeback as teachers help their students make sense of a heated political climate.

Times Higher Education (THE)

Evidence suggests you can teach students to spot fake stories, say Joseph Kahne and Benjamin Bowyer.

Bloomberg View

Joseph Kahne shares that research shows that education and the ability to think critically are key to determining the validity of a news story.

Providence Journal

Many people assume that because youth are fluent in social media they are equally perceptive about what they find there. Joseph Kahne and Benjamin Bowyer recently published the results of their own look at "youth judgments of the accuracy of truth claims tied to controversial public issues."

by Ben Bowyer & Joseph Kahne

In this Monkey Cage blot post Ben Bowyer and Joe Kahne share additional findings from the YPP Survey that online communities appear to provide pathways into political engagement.

by Ellen Middaugh

In new research Ellen Middaugh investigates the exposure to conflict and incivility of young people who engage politically online.

by Erica Hodgin

In our recent article, Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age: Participatory Politics and the Pursuit of Democratic Engagement, Joe Kahne, Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, and I highlight examples of curricular reform to help frame an expanded agenda for civic education in the digital age.