Chapter 10: The Making of a Global Citizen: A Model of Supporting Civic Learning Opportunities Among Urban Youth

Recent reports from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that fewer than 22% and 24% of 8th and 12th graders score at the level of proficient in civics. In fact, there were declines in civic knowledge among seniors from 2006 to 2010 (Buckley, 2011). Moreover, a persistent civic achievement gap exists among racial and ethnic minority youth. Apparent inconsistencies exist, however, between school vs. online-based civic learning and engagement. For example, the Youth and Participatory Politics Survey Project found that Black youth are the most likely to engage in either participatory politics (using the internet to discuss, create, and mobilize around political and civic issues/material of importance to individuals), institutional politics or voting with only 25% reporting no engagement in any form of political behavior compared to 33% of Whites and 43% of Latinos. In addition, racial and ethnic minority youth are active online, with 38% of Latinos and 41% of Blacks engaging in at least one act of participatory politics (Cohen, Kahne, Bowyer, Middaugh & Rogowski, 2012). These discrepancies point to a clear need to better understand civic learning among racial and ethnic minority youth, particularly in classrooms that encourage the use of digital media.