Leading Through Crisis: A Model for Education Collaboration
Both former Harvard Deans, Lagemann and Lewis wrote this article for Harvard's 375th anniversary. It was meant to spark a university-wide discussion on the decline of civics education which they believe once was and should be central to Harvard's mission. They describe the components of civic education in American colleges and universities as "tri-pod of intellect, morality and action."
Civic Health Index
Lagemann and Lewis’ argument for civic education is supported through research from the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), a national nonprofit chartered by Congress in 1953 to discover and share best practices in civic engagement. NCoC's Civic Health Index uses 40 different indicators of civic involvement to measure community, civic and political engagement (e.g. membership in civic groups, trust in other people, community participation, charitable contributions, staying informed, voting and trust in key institutions.)
"The need for civic education is urgent..." ~ Dr. Ellen Condliffe Lagemann & Dr. Harry Lewis, Harvard Magazine, 2012
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The Index has shown a steady decline except for a brief uptick in 2001 after 9/11.
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Their report "Renewed Engagement" (2007) shows only 15% of the population participates in civic life in a significant way.
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Important to have enough leaders to do the work and diversity to generate ideas and perspectives to problems.
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NCoC found that education "marks the great gap in civic participation today."
NCoC works in conjunction with the Saguaro Seminar at Harvard.
Lagemann, E.C. & Lewis, H.R (2012). Renewing Civic Education, Harvard Magazine. March- April 2012, 42-45.
National Conference on Citizenship, NCOC (2006). America’s Civic Health Index: Broken Engagement. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://ncoc.net/257
National Conference on Citizenship, NCOC (2007). America’s Civic Health Index: Renewed Engagement, Building on America’s Civic Core. Washington, D.C.