{"title":"“I Don’t Think Kids Nowadays Feel Like They Have a Lot of Power”: Exploring Teacher Civic Commitments in a National Online Letter Writing Project","authors":"Emma C. Gargroetzi, Antero Garcia","doi":"10.1177/00224871221105791","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates teacher participation in a national online youth civic letter writing project through the lens of teacher civic commitments. Drawing on in-depth interviews and survey data from teachers who participated in the Letters to the Next President 2.0 project, civic commitments are articulated through civic beliefs, learning goals, instructional enactments, and geopolitical context. With a generic shared belief in “youth voice,” teachers enacted the civic letter writing project through instructional activities that included (a) choice of topic, (b) publication, (c) reading letters from other youth, (d) research, (e) peer dialogue, and (f) connections beyond the Letters project. While beliefs appeared widely shared, divergence in learning goals and enactments led to distinct learning opportunities for students. With minimal research exploring the role of teachers in student civics learning, this study provides new insights to guide teacher preparation and ongoing teacher development in the realm of civics education.","PeriodicalId":17162,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teacher Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Teacher Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00224871221105791","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
This study investigates teacher participation in a national online youth civic letter writing project through the lens of teacher civic commitments. Drawing on in-depth interviews and survey data from teachers who participated in the Letters to the Next President 2.0 project, civic commitments are articulated through civic beliefs, learning goals, instructional enactments, and geopolitical context. With a generic shared belief in “youth voice,” teachers enacted the civic letter writing project through instructional activities that included (a) choice of topic, (b) publication, (c) reading letters from other youth, (d) research, (e) peer dialogue, and (f) connections beyond the Letters project. While beliefs appeared widely shared, divergence in learning goals and enactments led to distinct learning opportunities for students. With minimal research exploring the role of teachers in student civics learning, this study provides new insights to guide teacher preparation and ongoing teacher development in the realm of civics education.
期刊介绍:
The mission of the Journal of Teacher Education, the flagship journal of AACTE, is to serve as a research forum for a diverse group of scholars who are invested in the preparation and continued support of teachers and who can have a significant voice in discussions and decision-making around issues of teacher education. One of the fundamental goals of the journal is the use of evidence from rigorous investigation to identify and address the increasingly complex issues confronting teacher education at the national and global levels. These issues include but are not limited to preparing teachers to effectively address the needs of marginalized youth, their families and communities; program design and impact; selection, recruitment and retention of teachers from underrepresented groups; local and national policy; accountability; and routes to certification. JTE does not publish book reviews, program evaluations or articles solely describing programs, program components, courses or personal experiences. In addition, JTE does not accept manuscripts that are solely about the development or validation of an instrument unless the use of that instrument yields data providing new insights into issues of relevance to teacher education (MSU, February 2016).