oath on graduation, and politicians repeated it in radio broadcasts. 

Civic education regained momentum, with many American schools and universities building structured curricula centered on government processes, the history of democratic development, and a celebration of patriotic values. These were complemented in contemporary parades, holidays, and the growth of civically patriotic groups like the Boy Scouts.

During the mid- and later twentieth century, there was yet another swing of the pendulum that again de-emphasized civic education. The Sputnik and Cold War eras put urgent strategic priority on science, math, and engineering skills for Americans. Civic education was soon further pressured during the Vietnam War. Protesters argued against education that celebrated the history and decision-making of a government that was fighting an immoral war and lying to its citizens about it. Many other critics raised concerns about persistent racism in our society, notwithstanding progress driven by a rising civil rights movement.

Since then, the study of American history and its institutions has become a battlefield of moral debates and political antagonisms. To minimize controversy, schools reacted by watering down or eliminating civic educational offerings. Once celebratory – but also educational – public holidays (Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day) were reduced for many Americans to opportunities for family picnics or to buy a new mattress on sale.

Today’s faded emphasis on educating citizens in the history, institutions, and values of democracy and self-governance is visible in doleful statistics. To take some selected and alarming samples, only 30 percent of Americans born since 1980 now say it is essential to live in a democracy; 44 percent of Americans cannot name all three branches of our government; one in three say they would consider abolishing the Supreme Court; and 30 percent of twelfth graders say they have never participated in any kind of debate. 

A civics assessment done by the National Assessment of Educational Progress has reported that less than one-third of eighth graders are able to identify the historical purpose of the Declaration of Independence, and fewer than one-fifth of all high school seniors can explain how citizen participation benefits democracy. Student achievement in civic knowledge for Black and Latino students typically lags behind their white counterparts, and those minority populations also generally have less access to civic education.

That said, even the best public schools typically fall short in their civic offerings. As one student of a nationally ranked high school told us, “My education offers nothing beyond a standard curriculum of American history, nor anything about civic engagement and involvement.”

Toward a Renewal of America’s Civic Education

For democracy to survive and continue to flourish, citizens must understand and support its essential conditions – binding one another in a civic bargain to govern themselves. In our book , we highlighted how, in an era of increasing polarization and distrust in government – and amid a historical expansion of immigration into the United States – it is more important than ever to educate citizens in the essential conditions that define democracy and make it work. Thus our

recommendation that America must now dramatically invest in renewing its civic education.

Fortunately, our call comes at a time when interest in civics appears to be growing. The question of the education of citizens is once again moving to the forefront for educators at all levels-from K-12 to universities. There is also increasing attention addressing that need among civic and nonprofit organizations as well as by some members of Congress. That said, this shift is still in the early days, and it remains to determine the best content, experiences, and approaches to pursue.

So what should twenty-first-century civic education look like? We cannot offer a detailed answer here, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Our research, however, and insights from practical experience in the Stanford Civics Initiative suggest some general design principles. We hope these will contribute to the continuing development of renewed programs aimed at enabling tomorrow’s citizens to rebuild their civic bargain with one another.

Build on Earlier Traditions

Civic education in surviving democracies looks ahead but also looks back because self-governance is fostered by understanding the origins of living without a boss and why it has been so highly valued. America’s own rich tradition of civic education provides a platform on which to build-even if future programs must evolve or discard certain themes and certainties of the past. The history of civic education at Stanford University, where one of us teaches, offers one way of pursuing this balance.

In 1920, the year that the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote, Stanford (coeducational from its founding in 1885) inaugurated Problems of Citizenship, a year-long course for all first-year students. Incoming students were told that the founders of their university “had in mind a preparation for citizenship as a problem in education, rather than the development of a technique in Political Science, Economics, or Law.” 

In addition to laying the “foundations for work in your special field of interest,” the university would also call on them “to build carefully and to prepare thoughtfully for your work as a citizen.” They would learn that “citizenship is not a thing apart, something to be thought of only occasionally or left to the energies of a minority of our people, but that its proper understanding is at the very root of our daily life.”

Stanford’s Problems of Citizenship, in common with similar courses in other universities, was prompted in part by a challenge of scale: not only had the enfranchised citizen population doubled now that women enjoyed voting rights, but in recent years there had been a sharp increase in immigration. Between1890 and 1910, immigrants constituted between 14 and 15 percent of the total US population, up from about 10 percent in 1870. The citizenship course not only pushed back against merely vocational education but also sought to address concerns about the civic loyalties of immigrants (notably German speakers) in the aftermath of World War I. It was seen as imperative that millions of new citizens understand the principles and practices of democracy.

After 1930, due to

restrictive legislation, immigration levels dropped sharply. The decline continued through the 1960s; by 1970, immigrants constituted less than 5 percent of the US population. Accordingly, the educational focus shifted from citizenship as such to America’s shared cultural inheritance. 

Stanford’s educational evolution illustrates the trend. In 1935, Problems of Citizenship was replaced with a mandatory sequence in Western Civilization. A generation later, during 1960s’ campus protests, Western Civ classes were under attack; the sequence was abandoned in 1969. 

After a decade without a common civics-related course, Stanford tried out a more inclusive multitrack Western Culture sequence. It morphed into Cultures, Ideas, Values, followed in the 1990s by Introduction to the Humanities. That was in turn replaced in 2012 by a smorgasbord of Thinking Matters courses, from which first-year students were asked to pick one. Civic education at Stanford had vanished into a Silicon Valley version of education for efficiency.

Meanwhile, however, faculty members were voicing concerns that without a civics-centered curriculum, Stanford’s undergraduate education was impoverished – and dangerously so given the growing political malaise. Some, with knowledge of Stanford’s earlier traditions, reflected on what had been lost. Others, cognizant of America’s changing role in the world and increasing demographic diversity, saw opportunities for a new approach to educating citizens. In 2021, the university senate unanimously approved a new sequence of three courses aimed at re­making the educational experience of first-year students.

The central course in the new sequence became Citizenship in the 21st Century. More advanced courses, building on Citizenship in the 21st Century, are now being offered through the Civics Initiative. Stanford’s recommitment to civic education builds on and has inspired simi­lar initiatives at other universities. 

It is too early to predict a full-blown national movement for intensifying American civic education. But there are growing indications of an educational shift away from a single­ minded focus on efficiency, and toward promoting the knowledge and leadership of participative democratic citizens. Tomorrow’s reformers should take advantage of the lessons of the past while also pioneering new and innovative approaches that prepare citizens to rebuild the civic bargains by which democracy survives.