Identifying Best Practices in Civic Education: Lessons From the Student Voices Program

School‐based civic education is increasingly recognized as an effective means for increasing political awareness and participation in American youth. This study examines the Student Voices curriculum, implemented in 22 Philadelphia high schools, to assess program activities that mediate gains in outcomes linked to future political participation (following of politics, political knowledge, and political efficacy). The results indicate that class deliberative discussions, community projects, and informational use of the Internet produce favorable outcomes that build over the course of two semesters. Effects were comparable for both white and nonwhite students. Disciplines Communication | Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/357 NOVEMBER 2007 75 American Journal of Education 114 (November 2007) 2007 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0195-6744/2007/11401-0003$10.00 Identifying Best Practices in Civic Education: Lessons from the Student Voices Program LAUREN FELDMAN University of Pennsylvania JOSH PASEK Stanford University DANIEL ROMER University of Pennsylvania KATHLEEN HALL JAMIESON University of Pennsylvania School-based civic education is increasingly recognized as an effective means for increasing political awareness and participation in American youth. This study examines the Student Voices curriculum, implemented in 22 Philadelphia high schools, to assess program activities that mediate gains in outcomes linked to future political participation (following of politics, political knowledge, and political efficacy). The results indicate that class deliberative discussions, community projects, and informational use of the Internet produce favorable outcomes that build over the course of two semesters. Effects were comparable for both white and nonwhite students.