Civic Learning the Long-Term Solution to Restoring Faith in American Democracy

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director

Last week I reviewed a Brookings Institution study on the state of civic learning in the United States. Today, I’d like to review a separate report published by the Democracy Project that explores how we can reverse “a crisis of confidence” in our democratic institutions. The report is a collaboration of Freedom House, the George W. Bush Institute, and the Penn Biden Center. It draws from a large national survey and regional focus groups, “…examining American attitudes about democratic principles and institutions at home and support for U.S. policies that advance democracy abroad.”

While the project did not find a decline in support for democratic ideals, it demonstrated “…a crisis in confidence of how U.S. democracy works in practice.” A majority view American democracy as weak (55%) and more than two-thirds (68%) feel it is getting weaker. These feelings are more pronounced among people of color, perhaps attributed to their historical marginalization in American democracy and sensitivity to its shortcomings.

When asked to identify problems that plague our democracy, big money in politics and racism and discrimination emerged as the greatest concerns, followed by government ineffectiveness and unreliable media and partisan news (see graph below). Specific to racism and discrimination, whites and people of color have decidedly different views, where the former deems “equal rights and protections for minorities” as improving, and the latter see significant regression.

There was evidence of strong support for the protection of individual rights and small groups from the “tyranny of the majority.” And by a wide margin respondents support continued or increased promotion of democracy and human rights abroad by the U.S. government.

As we seek to rally public support for democracy generally and our public institutions specifically, the messaging that resonates most poignantly is around the threats to individual liberties and freedoms and increased civic engagement as the best defense against their erosion. Tactical means of strengthening democracy center on greater incentives for youth to engage in public service, stronger protections against racial bias, and limits on campaign contributions in federal elections.

The most encouraging finding, which translated into a recommendation at the end of the report, is broad support for school-based civic learning. Eighty-nine percent favored a proposal to “ensure that schools make civic education a bigger part of the curriculum.” This surpassed all of the other competing proposals, and if implemented, could produce “…a stronger public understanding of democratic principles.”

I would go further in suggesting that high-quality civic learning opportunities empower young people to address the democratic weaknesses that emerged in this survey, advancing specific policy proposals to eliminate racial inequities and strengthen public institutions. Civic learning plays an important role in affirming our 244 year experiment in democracy, but also in equipping our posterity to build a more perfect union in search of alignment of founding ideals and present realities.