Transformative Civic Education in Democratic Societies

Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert is lecturer in Adult Education at the University of Augsburg, Germany. Dr. Hoggan-Kloubert researches migration and civic education in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the United States. She has conducted research as a visiting researcher at various universities, including Harvard University, Tufts University, and Chernivtsi University. She is co-founder of the Civic Reconstruction Project and co-director of the Institute for Civic Studies and Learning for Democracy.Paul E. Mabrey III is the Communication Center coordinator in the Learning Centers and assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University. Dr. Mabrey has received a “Civvy” award honorable mention for American Civic Collaboration, secured 4-VA and Colonial Academic Alliance grant funding, and published scholarship on the use of debate for civic learning. Previously, he served as the assistant director of Debate at James Madison University and president of the Cross Examination Debate Association.Chad Hoggan is an associate professor of adult and lifelong education at North Carolina State University and has been co-editor of the Journal of Transformative Education since 2016. Previous books include Transformative Learning in Community Colleges, which won the 2020 Cyril Houle Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education. Dr. Hoggan is co-founder of the Civic Reconstruction Project and co-director of the Institute for Civic Studies and Learning for Democracy.

This timely, wide-ranging volume reminds us that democracy requires intentional, lifelong learning and practice. It will be a valuable scholarly resource for civic educators and researchers who seek to study, understand, and apply active forms of civic education to support and sustain democratic values and skills. The chapters cover a broad range of theory and applied examples from around the world regarding the why, what, and how of adult civic education.—Jonathan R. Alger, president, James Madison UniversityThis important and timely book takes a comprehensive look at the purpose, role, and impact of civic engagement on the development, attainment, and retention of stable democracies. The variety of contributing authors in this text take incisive examinations of civic engagement in a variety of global contexts and deftly confront the ways in which an understanding of the political, social, and economic environs contribute to our ability to develop new paradigms for civic learning and democratic engagement. The text further elucidates the ways in which an educated citizenry is one of the biggest assets any evolved society can offer to the world in an effort to maintain peace, order, and stability. These various arguments and positions also make it clear to the reader that a postsecondary education is not a “nice-to-have,” but a “must-have” for nations seeking to constructively advance democratic ideals and promulgate a civil society through adult and traditional learners’ exposure to diverse people, cultures, languages, and ideals.—Yolanda Watson Spiva, president, Complete College America, co-author of Daring to Educate: The Legacy of the Early Spelman College Presidents, and contributing author to Recognizing Promise: The Role of Community Colleges in a Post Pandemic WorldThe book is an impressive testimony of the importance of democratic, civic adult education in times of increasing authoritarianism. The editors present a wide variety of theoretical and practical contributions that will inspire a broad readership of educators and educationalists all over the world.—Danny Widemeersch, professor emeritus of social and cultural pedagogy at KU Leuven (Belgium)

• Contents Acknowledgments Preface Part 1. Theories and Foundations Adult Education and Critical Democratic Citizenship: Revisiting Key Concepts in a Time of Crisis | Fergal Finnegan and Ted Fleming Contextualization of Transformative Civic Education: A Critical Perspective | Rachel White, Taylor Brown, Jillian A. Martin, and Aaron Pevitz Civic Education and Indoctrination: Overlapping Areas and Demarcation Criteria | Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert Shaping a Path Forward: Critical Approaches to Civic Education in Tumultuous Times | Jacob Kelley and Ashley N. Watson The Role of Civic Education in the Process of Democracy Development and Social Consolidation in Ukraine | Polina Verbytska Part 2. Methods and Tools Civic Education as a Transformative Form of Educational Practice and Engagement | Trisha Gott, Jerry Johnson, and Mary Tolar The Role of Rhetoric in Civic Education: Theorizing Public Speaking from the Lens of Critical Rhetoric | Orville B. Tatcho Negotiating Civic Concepts of Peace in Lebanon: Postcolonial Peace Education and English Composition Classes | Marwa Mehio All Voices and Perspectives Welcome: Faculty and Professional Development as Civic Education | Shantih E. Clemans and Alan Mandell Civic Education and Social Justice: Moving toward a Pedagogy of Community Organizing and Community-Based Participatory Methods | Taylor Brown, Rachel White, Aaron Pevitz, and Jillian A. Martin Teacher Educators Make Sense of Global Citizenship Education: Two Phenomenological Case Studies | Yuqing Hou Civic Engagement across Disciplines: Supporting Educators in Civic Education | Sarah M. Surak and Alexander Pope Part 3. Contexts and Applications It Changed Me as a Citizen: Transformative Civic Education through the Clemente Course in the Humanities | Charity Anderson How Service-Learning Positively Impacts College Students’ Voting Behaviors | Luis Felipe Gómez and Tabitha Hart Rethinking Civic Education to Address the Menace of Vote Buying in the Nigerian Electoral System | Sunday Olawale Olaniran and Ikeoluwapo B. Baruwa Community-Engaged Civic Education: A Case Study of Transformation through Community Building in “Communication for Justice and Social Change” | Brandi Lawles Civic Education and Action in the Migration Society: A Study on Voluntary Engagement for and with Refugees in Germany | Elisabeth Lang and Tanja Evers How Environmental Humanities Classes Can Promote Practical Responses to Environmental Change | Mary Le Rouge Civic Education in the Conditions of Transformational Changes: The Latest Experience of Ukraine | Yuriy Petrushenko Contributors