Developing Civic Agency in STEM Education

Abstract

Today’s myriad local and global challenges highlight the need for STEM professionals who have discipline-specific competencies as well as an understanding of social issues and how to get things done in our democracy. In addition, there has never been a greater need for scientific, mathematical, and technological literacy for all citizens. This article is about how colleges and universities are developing civic agency in future STEM professionals as well as in students whose STEM courses are part of their required general education curriculum. It provides an overview of the concept of civic agency and offers multiple examples of outstanding and promising practices, recommendations for the integration of civic agency in STEM courses, and resources for further information and action.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Resources

American Association of Colleges and Universities. Resources to support civic learning in the major. https://www.aacu.org/office-of-global-citizenship-for-campus-community-and-careers/civic-prompts-civic-learning-in-the-major-by-design

College Civic Learning: A Hub for the Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Movement. https://collegeciviclearning.org/takeaction

Community-Engaged Scholarship in STEM. Honey W. Nashman for Civic Engagement and Public Service. George Washington University. https://serve.gwu.edu/community-engaged-scholarship-stem

National Science Teaching Association. https://www.nsta.org/case-studies

Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities. sencer.net

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barbara Jacoby

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Barbara Jacoby ([email protected]) is a higher education consultant. She served the University of Maryland for over 40 years focusing on service-learning, civic engagement, and faculty development. She has authored seven books and consults around the world.