Education-Community Initiative: Motivations for Implementing a Civil Leadership Program at an Elementary School

Abstract

The National Institute of Civil Discourse and the Prison Policy Initiative have reported a number of uncivil interactions in the United States, some resulting in over 36,000 youth detained in the juvenile justice system as of 2022, with 15,800 offenses stemming from person-to-person interactions (Boatright, 2022; Prison Policy Initiative, 2022). Lack of civility, especially among children without skills to resolve conflict in socially appropriate ways, presents serious challenges in communities and to K–12 educators who are responsible for addressing issues that arise in schools. The current study examines through a cultural lens community and school leaders’ motivations in implementing a civil leadership program at the elementary school level and the effect of the intervention in ameliorating uncivil student interactions.