Learning to Think Politically: Toward More Complete Disciplinary Knowledge in Civics and Government Courses

Abstract

Secondary civics and government courses are often framed as a content area in which students learn about processes of government and ways of participating in a democratic society, as opposed to a discipline in which students use specific tools and ways of thinking that mimic those used by professionals within that discipline. In this article, we call for an increased emphasis on disciplinary knowledge in civics and government courses, specifically knowledge that utilizes the tools and methodologies of political scientists. Through a study of an exemplary civics teacher during the 2012 Presidential Election, we illustrate the benefits of a disciplinary approach to civics instruction. Our findings suggest that such an approach allows students to better understand tools of social inquiry and provides them with the skills to think critically about politics and political behavior.

Keywords:

• civics
• disciplinary knowledge
• electoral politics
• government
• political science
• polling data
• thinking politically

Notes

1. Perhaps the most notable examples are the oversampling of wealthy voters by Literary Digest in the 1936 Presidential Election (Squire, 1988), the early predictions of Thomas Dewey over Harry Truman by The Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers in the 1948 Presidential Election (McDonald, Glynn, Kim, & Ostman, 2001), and the 1988 California gubernatorial race that led to the so-called “Bradley Effect” in which White voters may lie about their willingness to vote for minority candidates (Payne, 2010).

2. It is worth noting that Fox News ultimately decided not to renew Morris’s contract, although the network never indicated the motivation for its decision.

3. As Niemi and Smith (2001) noted, there is an implicit difference between “civics” and “government” courses. Civics conveys the idea of broad citizenship training, but among political scientists, the term “civics” represents an uncritical approach to studying politics that is not representative of the work of political scientists. Government, on the other hand, tends to hold political connotations, which is why many states prefer to use “civics” to describe these types of courses. Even in states that offer courses in both civics and government, research suggests that both tend to lean more toward citizenship training than introductory courses in political science (Journell, 2010a). We, therefore, use the term “civics” for brevity.

4. For example, thinking historically (Wineburg, 2001), economically (Schug & Wood, 2011), or geographically (Nagel, 2008) are ways in which other social studies disciplines encourage disciplinary thinking.

5. It is also worth noting that at least one study refuted the relationship between the use of disciplinary tools, specifically polling data, and students’ civic competence in undergraduate political science courses (Jones & Meinhold, 1999).

6. Research also has shown that when social studies teachers are asked to teach courses outside of their disciplinary backgrounds, it affects the way they view their content instruction (Gudmundsdottir & Shulman, 1987; S. M. Wilson & Wineburg, 1988).

7. Pseudonyms have been used for all participants and other identifying information.

8. One student marked “other” but did not offer a more detailed explanation.

9. In addition to the poster, Mr. Monroe had each student create a mock television advertisement for their candidate using iMovie. For more information on this aspect of the study, refer to Beeson et al. (2014).

10. The quantitative portion of one student’s survey was invalid, so her answers were not included in the quantitative portion of the survey analysis.

11. One student, Seth, was particularly vocal and quick to answer Mr. Monroe’s questions before others could contribute. His overbearing participation was a source of frustration for Mr. Monroe over the course of the semester. Although Mr. Monroe tried various methods of reducing Seth’s participation, it remained a problem for the entirety of the study.

12. Some students’ names were not known at the time data collection occurred.

13. At that fundraiser, Romney stated that 47% of Americans would vote for Obama because they were dependent on government entitlement programs and paid no income taxes. Romney continued by stating that his job was not to worry about that percentage of Americans and that he could never convince them to take personal responsibility for their lives (MoJo News Team, 2012). Unbeknownst to Romney, his words were being recorded by a Democratic opposition researcher who subsequently leaked the video to the liberal magazine Mother Jones.

14. In the American political system, hard money is defined as money given directly to a candidate and regulated by the Federal Election Commission. There are limits to the amount of hard money individuals can give to candidates. Soft money, on the other hand, is money given to a political party or a Political Action Committee, and there are no limits on the amount individuals or corporations can give to these organizations.

15. On September 11, 2012, the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, was overrun, resulting in the death of four embassy personnel, including American Ambassador Christopher Stevens. The American response to the attack was criticized by many politicians and political pundits, and it became an important aspect of Romney’s criticism of the President during the campaign.

16. As in the pre-survey, the quantitative portion of one student’s survey was invalid, so her answers were not included in the quantitative portion of the survey analysis.

17. We would also argue that Mr. Monroe possessed exceptional technological pedagogical content knowledge, an aspect of the study that is explored elsewhere (Beeson et al., 2014).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wayne Journell

WAYNE JOURNELL is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education, School of Education, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Melissa Walker Beeson

MELISSA WALKER BEESON is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Cheryl A. Ayers

CHERYL A. AYERS is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education, School of Education, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170. She can be contacted at [email protected].