Strengthening Civic-Mindedness and Democratic Commitment through Engaged Pedagogies

Abstract

Service learning and active-citizenship learning address equity issues and help students strengthen their civic-mindedness and democratic commitment to society. Through working with communities, they gain experience and develop skills as they contribute to the common good. This paper presents research with undergraduate students regarding the impact of engaged pedagogies on attitudes centered around a culture of democracy, particularly civic-mindedness and orientation towards the common good. The research uses a mixed-method design and combines a quantitative survey (7 level Likert Scale) with focus group discussions. Fifty-five service-learning students from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and 95 students practicing active-citizenship learning at Salzburg University of Teacher Education took part in the study. The analysis integrates results from the survey with qualitative data from 23 focus group discussions. Findings show that both pedagogies in the two samples significantly support a culture of democracy. The authors find that engaged pedagogies can help ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning, when student projects engage in problem-solving in collaboration with the communities.