The goal of the Leveraging Equity and Access in Democratic Education (LEADE) Initiative is to provide educational decision makers with a set of research-based tools for assessing equity and access in civic education in order to improve civic learning opportunities for all students.

CERG has launched a hybrid professional development program for public K-12 teachers. The initiative is designed to promote high-quality civic education that responds to the realities of our current civic and political landscape via professional development offerings, including online courses and in-person institutes.

The Educating for Democracy Deep Dive developed by the Teaching Channel and CERG is a curated collection of videos accompanied by educational resources, blogs, and articles related to preparing youth for civic and political life in the digital age.

The Supports for Youth Civic Media Engagement: An Examination of Equity & Impact study drew on the Youth and Participatory Politics nationally representative survey of youth in order to analyze the distribution of learning opportunities for civic media literacy, the impact of these learning opportunities, and, in particular, the impact of these opportunities on whether youth create and circulate civic and political content.

The MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP) was a multidisciplinary network of scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of digital media and youth engagement in the public sphere. YPP formed out of recognition that youth are critical to the future of democracy and that the digital age is introducing technological changes that are impacting how youth develop into informed, engaged, and effective actors.

Through the efforts of four teams based in three different cities, the Educating for Participatory Politics (EPP) project explored the transformations that accompany the digital age, and investigated the opportunities for educators in preparing young people to participate in civic and political life. Preparing youth for democracy in the digital age requires a new approach.

Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age (EDDA) was a partnership between University of California, Riverside, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), and the National Writing Project. The purpose of the initiative was to leverage web 2.0 tools and best practices in civic education to provide all high school students in Oakland with opportunities that will prepare and motivate them to work for positive change in their communities. In other words, we aimed to prepare students to be community ready.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project in collaboration with CERG and Mills College developed a national telephone survey intended to explore young people's use of video games and how this use relates to certain social and civic outcomes.

Drawing on a longitudinal survey of 3,805 students from 47 high schools in Chicago, this study examined the impact of classroom practices, extracurricular activities, family conversations, neighborhood contexts, school contexts, and academic performance on students' developing commitments to civic participation.

This longitudinal study examined how digital media influences civic commitments, capacities and activities in late adolescence. We surveyed students in 2006 and 2007, and conducted a final survey in 2009.

We conducted a study of CityWorks - an experiential high school government curriculum in collaboration with Bernadette Chi of the East Bay Conservation Corps. The curriculum was created by the Constitutional Rights Foundation and is being used in several Los Angeles area high schools.

In collaboration with Joel Westheimer of the University of Ottawa, this study examined 10 exemplary educational programs designed to promote democratic values. The programs worked with middle school students, high school students, college students, and adults.

In partnership with the Educating for Democracy Initiative, CERG worked with school districts throughout the state of California to assess and promote youth civic development.