As a profession, political scientists have been interested in the state of
civic education for nearly a century. The American Political Science
Association (APSA) has been involved in a discussion of teaching political
science, and communicating the desire to turn our students into educated,
responsible citizens since its inception (Mann
1996; for a more negative interpretation, see Leonard 1999). More recently, the association has sponsored
discussion of civic education in the pages of PS and elsewhere.
This renewed interest stems in part from a concern about the quality of
primary and secondary education in the United States generally, and in part
from a concern about the decline in civic engagement in the United States
(Putnam 1995). Today's traditional college
students come to us with little interest in, and a cynicism of, public
affairs that is disheartening to those who love politics (Bennett 1998; Hibbing and Theiss-Morse
1996; Mann 1999).
Some efforts are underway to change this state of affairs. National standards
for civic education from K-12 have been developed and critiqued (Dry 1996; Merelman 1996).
A movement to incorporate “service learning” to promote good citizenship is
growing nationwide (see for example, Battistoni and
Hudson 1997; the September 2000 issue of PS). Many other
articles offer advice to political science professors on means to instill a
sense of civic duty in their students, consistent with the charge of APSA's
Task Force on Civic Education (Carter and Elshtain
1997).
However, none of these efforts will work unless the students are enrolled in
courses that cover this material, whether in the primary, secondary, or
post-secondary levels. One study by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public
Affairs (Tolo 1999) found that more than half of
the states mandated some civic education at the K-12 levels; 49 states had
content standards in civic education and 29 states require high school
students to complete a course in government or civics. However, no similar
study has been done at the postsecondary level. The purpose of this article
is to determine how many states require college students to take some course
in American government, civics, or similar subject matter, through state
statute, regulation, or other binding state-level (not
institutional) mandate.
Background
South Carolina has a statutory mandate that requires that all students
enrolled in public high schools or colleges undertake a study of the
Constitution, Federalist Papers, and the Declaration of
Independence (South Carolina Code of Laws, Section 59–29–120–150). At my
institution, this “Constitution Requirement” is embedded in the general
education program. Students may take either one semester of American
Government, a two-semester American History sequence, or a course on
Political Economy, offered by the Economics faculty. These courses
fulfill both the Constitution Requirement and general education
requirements in social sciences or humanities, as appropriate. While
data on the students' motivation for taking particular courses are not
available, the Political Science Department appears to be the primary
benefi-ciary of this requirement.
I became interested in the topic of state mandates for college-level
civic education when the Constitution Requirement was attacked in the
course of a larger debate on redesigning the university's general
education program. The new general education proposal reduced hours in
the social sciences, humanities, and the physical and natural sciences.
The Constitution Requirement was attacked on several grounds: 1) that it
gave an unfair advantage to the departments that offered courses to
satisfy this requirement—especially Political Science; 2) the state
requirement was silly and unnecessary; 3) few, if any other states had
similar laws; and 4) few of the other four-year, public institutions in
South Carolina complied.
This article is a product of my effort to collect some data to bolster my
arguments of the importance civic education, and to retain the
Constitution Requirement within the general education program. I used my
preliminary data in my (eventually successful) efforts to retain the
Constitution Requirement in the new general education program. This
article provides more definitive findings.
Methodology
My initial efforts included contacting members of the APSA's Section on
Undergraduate Education and by posting a query on the listserv sponsored
by the Women's Caucus for Political Science.1
I wish to express my gratitude to the many colleagues—too
numerous to mention here—from across the country who responded
with information on their states.
I asked for
information on policies in the members' respective states,
not
the general education policies of individual institutions. I received
dozens of responses in very short order, and collected information on
about 20 states. For those states where two or more political scientists
indicated that there was no state requirement, I did no further
research. For those states where one or more political scientists had
indicated that there was a state mandate, I searched the state codes and
regulations online to find the precise language and legal citation. In
one case, I received conflicting responses from political scientists and
conducted my own investigation of that state. For those states where I
received no data, I searched the state codes and regulations online. My
search terms included “curriculum,” “subjects of instruction,” “American
Government,” “American History,” and “civics.” When a question about
state standards remained, I contacted the agency that governs public
higher education in that state.
2 For the
purposes of informing my institution's general education debate,
I also sought information on the 11 South Carolina public
colleges and universities that offer bachelor's degrees, and
queried the members of the South Carolina Political Science
Association who attended the 2002 annual meeting. I learned that
seven of the eleven institutions comply with the state
mandate.
Results
Nine states require some study of American government, the Constitution,
or civics for students enrolled in public institutions of higher
education. Five of these states also require study of their respective
state constitutions. The states are geographically concentrated in the
deep South, border states, or the far West. No states in New England or
the Mid-Atlantic regions have such a state law or regulation. (For a
complete list, along with legal citations, see Table
1).
Notably, most of these mandates are worded very broadly, which allows for
disciplines other than Political Science to offer courses that meet this
requirement. For example, the Arkansas requirement is for American
government or history. The “American Institutions” requirement in Utah
may be met through courses in History and Economics in addition to
Political Science. Two states, Texas and Georgia, have requirements in
both history and government at both the state and the
national levels.
Two other states have a similar requirement that does not specify the
study of American government or constitutions. Tennessee requires the
study of American or Tennessee state history (Tennessee Code,
49–7–110), and West Virginia has a statewide citizenship
requirement, which may be met through formal coursework, internships, or
public service activities (West Virginia Higher
Education Policy Commission 1996).
I also learned that several states have common “core curricula” that
serve to satisfy general education for some state institutions. The SUNY
system in New York, for example, includes American Government in its
general education curriculum, which applies to all SUNY campuses in the
system. The California State University system requires study in “United
States History, Constitution, and American ideals” at all its branch
campuses, but this requirement does not apply to the University of
California system (California State Regulations
2002, §40404). Minnesota has a “transfer curriculum” that all
regional state universities and community colleges honor. This
curriculum includes a multidisciplinary “ethical and civic
responsibility” component (Minnesota Transfer
Curriculum 2002), which may be met through courses in
Political Science, History, or Philosophy.3
These states differ from Arkansas, which is included in the
table, because Arkansas' core curriculum is binding upon all
state-supported institutions, which is not the case in Minnesota
or New York. In addition, the Arkansas curriculum was developed
in response to a state mandate to develop such a common core
curriculum.
The requirement in state
code is binding upon K-12 schools only. Institutions of higher
education must certify that students have met this requirement
at the high school level. If students have not passed a high
school level course, they may take an examination to demonstrate
their competency or enroll in a college-level course (Schelung
2002).
A systematic study of general education
curricula and transfer articulation agreements goes far beyond the scope
of this study, but these anecdotal findings do suggest that civic
education, broadly defined, is more widespread than a study of state
mandates alone would suggest.
Implications
This study demonstrates that nearly one of every five states has a
state-level mandate to study the American Constitution or a related
topic. On the one hand, this finding appears to demonstrate that these
state legislatures or bureaucracies recognize the value of civic
education in producing an informed citizenry. That one-half of these
states also require a study of state constitutions is also noteworthy,
given the decentralized, federal nature of the American system.
On the other hand, the vast majority of states (41 of 50) do not include
such a mandate. This, of course, does not imply that students enrolled
in these states' colleges and universities do not take American
Government or other civic education courses. They do, and do so in very
large numbers as institutions seek to shape students into well-rounded,
liberally educated individuals. However, higher education institutions
are under pressure to increase four-year graduation rates and to comply
with ever more complicated accreditation requirements for professional
programs. These pressures lead to a temptation to reduce the number of
general education hours, which could bring civic education under attack,
as it did at my institution. In my case, I was able to bolster my
arguments about the merits of retaining the University's
Constitution Requirement with hard data on other states and other
institutions in my state—and with arguments about respect for the rule
of law.
