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The Impacts of Project Citizen on U.S. Middle and High School Students: A 2005-2006 Study

The Impacts of Project Citizen on U.S. Middle and High School Students: A 2005-2006 Study. Sue Root & Judy Northup RMC Research Corporation. Study Questions. 1) What are the effects of Project Citizen on students’ civic development compared to effects on students who don’t participate?

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The Impacts of Project Citizen on U.S. Middle and High School Students: A 2005-2006 Study

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  1. The Impacts of Project Citizen on U.S. Middle and High School Students:A 2005-2006 Study Sue Root & Judy Northup RMC Research Corporation

  2. Study Questions • 1) What are the effects of Project Citizen on students’ civic development compared to effects on students who don’t participate? • Civic Knowledge (knowledge of democracy and of public policy) • Civic Skills (public policy problem solving skills) • Civic Dispositions (general citizen responsibility and personal civic responsibility); and • Current Civic Activity

  3. 2) What are the effects of Project Citizen on students’ civic literacy (civic discourse skills and persuasive writing ability)? • 3) How do the effects of Project Citizen vary in relationship to contextual factors (characteristics of teachers, implementation, and students?)

  4. The Sample 409 Project Citizen students and 341 comparison students from Michigan, Oklahoma, and Colorado 232 Project Citizen and 203 comparison students in grades 6-8 177 Project Citizen students and 138 comparison students in grades 9-12 Study Methods

  5. Instruments • Student pre and post-surveys including measures of civic knowledge, skills, dispositions, and activity. Surveys also measured PC students’ perceptions of their experiences. • Student pre and post-essays about a controversial public issue. • Teacher surveys, including measures of experience and skill at implementing Project Citizen.

  6. Results • Students who participated in Project Citizen improved significantly more in civic development and civic literacy than comparison students.

  7. Grades 9-12 Project Citizen students increased significantly more in Public Policy Knowledge. Civic Knowledge

  8. Civic Skills • Grades 6-8 & 9-12 • Project Citizen students’ ratings of public policy problem solving skills increased more than those of comparison students. Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12

  9. Grades 9-12 Project Citizen students made significantly greater gains than comparison students. Civic Discourse Skills

  10. Grades 9-12 PC students improved significantly more in persuasive writing ability. PC students in Grades 6-8 and 9-12 increased more in their use of the Project Citizen steps when explaining how they would try to have a policy adopted. Persuasive Writing Ability

  11. Other findings • Teacher experience and skill teaching Project Citizen were significant moderators of outcomes. For example, students of more skilled teachers gained more in knowledge of public policy and public policy problem solving skills. • There were few variations in the effects of Project Citizen due to implementation factors or student characteristics.

  12. Thank you to Barbara Miller, Suzanne Soule, Jennifer Nairne, Michael Fischer, Jane McConnell, Jim Troost, Linda Start and all participating teachers for your outstanding support and assistance. For more information, go to the Center for Civic Education website, or contact Sue Root (root@rmcdenver.com) or Suzanne Soule (ssoule@civiced.org)

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