Term

Summer 2024

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Trish Harvey

Content Expert

Jill Kohel

Abstract

This capstone project examines educational methods on how to increase civic engagement and education in high school students, centering on a resource guide and civic learning project. This study discusses how students can utilize family and community support to engage inquiry-based learning skills through a supplementary civics curriculum, and how it enhances their civic knowledge. The literature review delves into themes of civic education, civic engagement, and the integration of local government in civics. Key findings include an analysis of the current state of civics education and its variable knowledge base, an exploration of differing definitions of civic engagement and its application in community and educational settings, and an evaluation of service learning as an effective educational method for bridging connections between local government and civics curriculum. This project aids educators in how to utilize a supplemental civics curriculum in their classroom to best support civic knowledge retention while building key community relations for students. The project is formatted as an online resource guide that can be modified for educators' needs and includes instructions and a weekly timeline. The resource guide is broken into four sections that include: a general research portion of the student’s local government, a survey of students' local community, a survey of parent’s views on local community and government, and the civic learning project for students to create a presentation on a local public policy issue. The conclusion of this project discusses in summary its implications, limitations, and potential for future research can help to increase student engagement in their civics education and community.

Project Type

Resource Guide Project

Keywords

Community Building, Parent Involvement, Reflective Practice, Teachers/ Teaching

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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