Critical+democratic+citizenship

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**"Critical Democratic Citizenship": What competencies do students need to engage for justice in a diverse democracy? ** Cynthia Gordon, Harvard Graduate School of Education [cjg996@mail.harvard.edu]

**Keywords:** Critical democratic citizenship, civically-engaged learning, racial justice, social justice, citizen participation

**Conference track:** Higher education student outcomes

**Format:** Research/Scholarly paper

**Summary** Higher education institutions are increasingly committing to graduating students who are dedicated to civic engagement for the public good (AACU, 2008; Furco & Goss, 2001; Musil, 2011). If these students are to become citizens who take positive actions for racial and social justice, they need to understand the myriad ways in which people from diverse backgrounds are impacted by laws, policies, and cultural practices. In this paper, I argue higher education institutions should be educating students to become citizens who engage at the local-, state- or national-level with an orientation towards racial justice. These students determine how and where to participate through openly and actively thinking about multiple and diverse perspectives to determine the often complex structural causes of individual situations and behaviors. I call the integration of these learning outcomes “//critical democratic citizenship//.”

A functioning democracy relies on citizen participation (Dewey, 1916). Participation can and should be broadly constructed (Haste, 2009; Haste & Hogan, 2006; Mira, 2010) to include involvement or actions in collective community-based efforts; in local, state, and national issues; and for the general betterment of one’s communities (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). But how and in what ways citizens participate matters. Determining how to //participate// in ways that promote //justice// is a complex undertaking with a range of possible civic actions. In a society plagued by multiple racial/ethnic inequities, we need citizens actively supporting racial justice (Warren, 2010). To participate in civic actions which support racial justice, three additional overlapping competencies are important: //openness to multiple perspectives, active thinking, and structural thinking about racial inequality.//

Together, these skills—participation, justice-orientation, openness to multiple perspectives, active thinking, and structural thinking about racial inequality—make up //critical democratic citizenship//. I argue that because racial/ethnic inequalities have multiple and complex causes, and because people tend to overestimate the internal causes of situations/behaviors, critical democratic citizenship is necessary for developing effective strategies for deconstructing systemic inequities and realizing the ideal of a just democratic nation.

**References** Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2008). American Commitments: Diversity, Democracy, and Liberal Learning. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/american_commitments/index.cfm.

Dewey, J. (1916). //Democracy and education//. New York, NY: Free Press.

Diamond, J. (2008). Focusing on student learning. In M. Pollock (Ed.), //Everyday antiracism: Getting real about race in school// (pp. 254–257). New York, NY: New Press.

Ferguson, R. F., & Mehta, J. (2004). An unfinished journey: The legacy of Brown and the narrowing of the achievement gap. //Phi Delta Kappan//, //85//(9), 656–669.

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Furco, A., & Goss, M. (2001). //An analysis of civic intentions in higher education mission statements.// Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Berkeley, CA.

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Haste, H. (2009). What is 'competence' and how should education incorporate new technology's tools to generate 'competent civic agents'. //Curriculum Journal//, //20//(3), 207–223.

Haste, H., & Hogan, A. (2006). Beyond conventional civic participation, beyond the moral-political divide: Young people and contemporary debates about citizenship. //Journal of Moral Education//, //35//(4), 473–493.

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Mira, M. (2010). //Pushing the boundaries: What six youth organizers at Boston’s Hyde Square Task Force have to teach us about civic engagement.// Unpublished manuscript, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Musil, C. M. (2011). Reconfiguring civic engagement on campus: What are the levers for change? //Diversity and Democracy//, //14//(3), 5–7.

Nagda, B. A., Gurin, P., & Lopez, G. E. (2003). Transformative pedagogy for democracy and social justice. //Race, Ethnicity & Education//, //6//(2), 165.

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Ryoo, J. J., & McLaren, P. (2010). Seeking democracy in American schools: Countering epistemic violence through revolutionary critical pedagogy. In F. Salili & R. Hoosain (Eds.), //Democracy and Multicultural Education// (pp. 99–127). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

Warren, M. (2010). //Fire in the heart: How white activists embrace racial justice.// New York, NY: Oxford University.

Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. //American Educational Research Journal//, //41//(2), 237–269.


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