Building Civic Culture Here and Abroad: Project Citizen

Terrence C. Mason, Ph.D.Director, Center for Social Studies and International Education, and

Professor, Department of Curriculum and InstructionIU School of Education

Center for Social Studies and International EducationOur primary mission is to improve

education in the social studies (history, geography, economics, civics, anthropology, and the social sciences) in elementary and secondary schools.

A secondary mission is to meet the professional development needs of the international community of educators through in-service training, content seminars, and curriculum workshops in all curriculum areas.

CSSIE Current Projects:Afghanistan Higher Education Project (USAID)Macedonia Primary Education Project (USAID)Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Mathematics

Teachers Summer WorkshopCivitas Educator Exchange Project (U.S. Dept. of Education)Title VI Area Studies K-12 OutreachIndonesia New Ideas Project (USAID)The Inter-American Journal of Education for DemocracyDeliberating in a Democracy ProjectPersistent Issues in History NetworkIndiana Council for the Social StudiesR. Freeman Butts Institute on Civic Learning and Teacher

Education

Civitas International Civic Education Exchange Program Partnerships are designed to identify the civic education needs in each U.S. state and

international site and develop programs to address those needs in a manner that take advantage of the experience, expertise, and programmatic offerings of the partners.

Goals: Acquaint international educators with exemplary curricular and teacher training

programs in civic education developed in the United States and other participating nations

Assist international educators in the creating, adapting, implementing and institutionalizing effective civic education programs in their own countries

Create and implement civic education programs for students in the United States that will help them better understand the history and experiences of emerging democracies and other advanced democracies

Facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences in civic education among educational, governmental, and private sector leaders in the United States and emerging and established democracies

Encourage independent research and evaluation to determine the effects of civic education on the development of the knowledge, skills, and traits of character that are essential for the preservation and improvement of constitutional democracy

Project Citizen

We the People: Project Citizen is a curricular program for middle, secondary, and post-secondary students, youth organizations, and adult groups that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government. The program helps participants learn how to monitor and influence public policy. In the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles, tolerance, and feelings of political efficacy.

Project Citizen Steps: 1. Identifying public issues

in the community2. Selecting a problem for

class study3. Gathering information on

the problem4. Developing a class

portfolio5. Presenting the portfolio6. Reflecting on the

experience

Challenges faced in promoting civic culture abroad

Democracy is controversial

Whose democracy?ResourcesKnowledge or action?

The Role of Area Studies

Familiarize educators with local traditions, culture, political and social norms

Language training

Print and media resources

“The World We Want”A documentary about Project Citizen followed by a discussion with director/producerPatrick Davidson

When: Thursday, March 26 7:00 PMWhere: IU Bloomington, Fine Arts Auditorium 015