Reconceptualizing Civic Perspective-Taking

Abstract

This study examines how a project-based civics curriculum emphasizing locally relevant issues developed students’ civic perspective-taking by creating discursive spaces for students to make connections with content. The underlying aim of the curriculum was to foster deliberative social studies classrooms by developing students’ civic perspective-taking on local issues. This article uses thematic analysis of student discussions (i.e., verbal contributions) and writing assessments (i.e., written contributions) to identify and describe the types of connections students made. Our findings show that students made three types of connections with content using the civic perspective-taking framework: (a) realizing thematic connections among the issues to identify larger societal themes, (b) making personal connections to content, and (c) making connections to larger issues as they consider the public good. We found that students engaged in civic thinking in ways new to them, which prompted the research team to update and reconceptualize the framework for civic perspective-taking.