Young Americans on Citizenship

What do students know about citizenship and civic issues? How have students’ perceptions changed since the 1950’s? The purpose of this novel was two-fold:(1) To investigate students’ perceptions of civic principles in the social studies classroom through three domains: democratic values, constitutional rights and responsibilities, and economic principles and (2) To examine participant responses in relation to demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, frequency of class discussion, confidence in current administration, and political orientation. A historical background of social studies education in terms of its goal of citizenship education from the 1920s to present day will be presented. An examination of historical events, social and political movements, and the educational initiatives toward the establishment of social studies education will be discussed. Replication of a survey administered in 1957 by Purdue University was utilized to assess and compare such perceptions.