Rand Survey about the Purpose of Civics Instruction

The Rand Corporation published its findings of a survey it conducted of K-12 teachers on the purpose of Civics instruction. The survey produced some interesting results. By far the number one response was promoting critical thinking skills of students (68%). Promoting knowledge of social, political, and civic institutions finished well down the list (23% of respondents). It ranked behind promoting students’ participation in the community and promoting respect for the environment. As a Civics instructor, I find these results preposterous. I would have thought the clear purpose of civics instruction was to educate people about government and how those institutions impact their lives. While I think promoting critical thinking is a valid outcome of civics instruction, that skill is virtually worthless without knowledge of the topic itself–the workings of the government. Critical analysis is not very critical if the writer has no understanding of what they’re talking about. If teachers themselves can’t identify the proper purpose of civics instruction, perhaps it should be no surprise that a majority of Americans can’t identify many of the major government officials in this country and what their job entails. Election denialism, conspiracy theories, Twitter mobs, and other beliefs grounded neither in fact or reason are the result of years of neglecting civics instruction. Perhaps we should make all teachers retake civics to see what it is really all about.