Illinois Civics Courses Changing Classroom Practice and Producing Strong Student Outcomes

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director

Since the debut of the #CivicsIsBack Campaign in 2016, we have provided periodic updates on our progress. The primary intent of the Campaign is to support teachers, schools, and districts throughout Illinois in implementing the new high school civics course requirement and related, revised K-12 social studies standards.

To measure our progress, we partnered with the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University, and have previously summarized their findings on the impact our interventions have had on teachers participating in our professional development, plus the fidelity by which teachers, schools, and districts are implementing the law.

Core to our campaign are Illinois Civics Teacher Mentors, veteran educators representing the state’s 38 Regional Offices of Education outside of the City of Chicago. Teacher Mentors have received extensive professional development from the Illinois Civics team, and in turn, are charged with serving as resources for peers, schools, and districts in their regions.

Early returns suggested classroom and building-level interest in implementation among Mentors, but our second year of evaluation shows gains with principals, superintendents, teachers in the region, parents, and local leaders (see graph below). However, parents remain a stakeholder group in need of additional cultivation.

Mentors find that the greatest strength of the new course requirement is the integration of best practices in civic learning: direct instruction, discussion of current and controversial issues, service learning, and simulations of democratic processes. This strength is also a challenge among teachers committed to more traditional practices and administrators who “…do not see the value of the requirement.”

Mentors report integrating these practices into their own instruction and their profound impact on students. One mentor stated:

“[The student-centered nature of the civics requirement] engages students and puts them in charge of their own learning and collaborating on activities” and “forces deep and meaningful learning.”

CIRCLE also measured student outcomes from exposure to a civics course (see graph below). Because they did not perform a random control trail, we cannot make causal links, but “…results do suggest tangible benefits to student development garnered from taking the new social studies course.”
 

As compared to those who did not take a course, students who took a course were more likely to:

• Experience more supportive classroom environments that encouraged civil discourse.
• Say that they had discussed controversial issues in their courses.
• Say that they felt safe expressing their opinions.
• Say that they were encouraged to consider multiple views on controversial issues.
• Discuss current events and learn about how government works.
• Report improved interest and commitment to their local communities.
• Think that it is everyone’s responsibility to be concerned about state and local issues.
• Volunteer, help a neighbor, or serve as a leader.

These findings compliment those related to our mentors and provide evidence that statewide course implementation is taking hold. Future posts will further parse these findings, review their implications, and chart a course for the final year of intensive support for course implementation and plans for long-term sustainability.