The Civic Mission of Schools

A holistic approach to civic learning at all stages of a young person’s life is critical to building a critical mass of Americans who are well-informed, productively engaged, and hopeful about Democracy.

Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools outlines the benefits of civic learning for students in and outside the classroom. In the classroom, this report provides six proven practices that should be centered in civic curriculum. It also presents recommendations on civic learning policies for funders, postsecondary institutions, scholars, and researchers.

The report was produced by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Leonore Annenberg Institute of Civics of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania; the National Conference on Citizenship; the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning Engagement at Tufts University and the Public Education Division of the American Bar Association.