TITLE:
Reimagining Civic Education in the United States: Integrating Research, Policy, and Practice for Democratic Renewal
AUTHORS:
Delante Clark
KEYWORDS:
Civic Education, Democracy, Equity Policy, Critical Pedagogy, U.S. Schools
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.13 No.12,
December
15,
2025
ABSTRACT: Civic education in the United States faces persistent challenges, including inequitable access, curricular fragmentation, and reluctance to address controversial social and political issues. This paper presents a comprehensive synthesis of research, policy analysis, and practice-based case studies to reimagine civic education for the 21st century. Drawing on core scholarship supplemented with additional peer-reviewed studies on school segregation, charter school demographics, and race-conscious student assignment policies, the study examines the historical evolution of civic education, structural inequities, political avoidance, and promising innovations. Using a qualitative synthesis approach, the findings highlight five thematic areas: structural inequities, curricular misalignment, sanitized narratives, limits of rote learning, and transformative potential through critical pedagogy. New evidence from recent segregation and policy research demonstrates how inequitable resource allocation and racial isolation undermine civic preparation. Policy implications include equitable funding, vertical alignment of standards, professional development, inclusive curricula, and authentic assessment practices. The paper concludes that civic education must center marginalized voices, embrace inquiry-based and action-oriented learning, and align systems to prepare all students for democratic participation and renewal.