Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Virginia Commonwealth University

Teacher Education and Professional Development

Teaching and Learning Publications

Citizenship

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Education

Patriotism As Critique: Youth Responses To Teaching About Injustice, Hillary Parkhouse Jan 2020

Patriotism As Critique: Youth Responses To Teaching About Injustice, Hillary Parkhouse

Teaching and Learning Publications

The view that patriotism is characterized by unquestioning loyalty to one’s country remains common in the United States despite its anti-democratic implications. From this standpoint, classroom discussions of past and present injustices are a threat to patriotism because they raise doubts about national superiority and exceptionality. Through an ethnographic study in two critical, culturally diverse US history classrooms, I investigated students’ attitudes towards their country and the notion of patriotism. As opposed to fomenting disaffection among students, candid discussions of injustices led students to view their teachers and curriculum as more trustworthy than what they had encountered in prior classrooms. …


Lessons On Citizenship And Democratic Power Literacy From Undocumented Youth, Hillary Parkhouse Jan 2017

Lessons On Citizenship And Democratic Power Literacy From Undocumented Youth, Hillary Parkhouse

Teaching and Learning Publications

To create a society in which power is more equally accessible, we must teach our youth not only about civics and government, but also how to use political tools in order to effect social change. In this essay, I argue for teaching power literacy in place of traditional citizenship education on the grounds that the former has greater potential for increasing students’ political efficacy and their abilities to apply knowledge of civics to the real-world issues that affect them. To illustrate the concept of power literacy, I draw on a case study of a grassroots, undocumented youth activist organization fighting …