Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility

There is increasing attention to the idea that colleges and universities should help students become more informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens who are prepared to navigate a complex world. These goals were central to American undergraduate education in its early years, but have been pushed aside by many institutions. Educating Citizens is a path-breaking book offering an instructive and inspiring vision of how such work can be undertaken.

What are important elements of moral and civic learning? How can higher education contribute to them effectively? What challenges do institutions face when they try to undertake efforts for moral and civic learning and how can these challenges be addressed? These are the questions that spark this book, and they are also issues at the heart of democracy's future in America. Through a grand tour of American higher education, the authors show how institutions can equip students with the understanding, motivation, and skills of responsible and effective citizenship. The book describes general principles of moral and civic learning and uses rich examples from in-depth case studies and a range of programs and approaches to consider how these goals are approached in different educational contexts. Readers gain a new vantage on the fundamental importance of moral and civic learning, the educational and developmental goals and processes it involves, and how it operates in the landscapes of higher education.

Educating Citizens is essential reading for all who believe that higher education can play a critical role in the health of American democracy by helping students become responsible citizens of the nation, the world and their own communities.