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The Comparative Approach in the Teaching of Civics
by Stephen L. Schechter, Civics Mosaic, Director
A comparative approach is essential to the teaching of civics. In its simplest form, the comparative approach is used to draw out similarities and differences in the world of politics. We teach for example that the United States and Great Britain are similar in that they are Western countries with a common law tradition, that they are different in that the former has a parliamentary system while the latter has a presidential system based on separation of powers.
Comparing similarities and differences is an important use of the comparative approach, but not the only use. We must not confuse the simplicity of the verb "to compare" with the breadth and importance of its uses. The comparative approach is not simply a verb choice somewhere up the middle of Bloom's taxonomy....
Teaching Democracy Globally, Internationally and Comparatively:
Propositions for the Improvement of Civic Education in Schools
By John J. Patrick, Indiana University, Bloomington, July 19, 2003
During my lifetime, from the 1930's until today, I have known directly and indirectly the global conflict between democracy and its despotic rivals. I remember vividly my childhood encounters with refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria, who visited or settled in the community where my family lived. I recall readily my long-ago lessons in high school about the differences between democracy and communism, which were enriched by the stories of classmates whose families had fled from socialist or communist regimes in Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine. As a young man, I taught high school students about communism and democracy in history, civics, and government courses; and some of my students were political refugees from various communist countries. Later, as a middle-aged scholar and university-based civic educator, I observed the fall of the Soviet system and participated in projects to build education for democracy in formerly communist countries. During the past 12 years, I have observed the spectacular spread of democracy to every inhabited continent and to various social and cultural contexts. I know that for most people in our world today, democracy has become the prevailing source of political legitimacy....
 Banging the Drums of Civic Education: Teacher Transformation
in Civic Education through International Exchange
An Exploratory Participant Research Study
by Catherine Snyder, Niskayuna Central Schools, Niskayuna, NY, December 2004
At the heart of a successful democracy is active participation by its citizenry. If active participation is discouraged by a country's public institutions or its political culture, democracy as a form of government is susceptible to failure; indeed democracies are imperfect and fragile at best (Nelson & Rapoport, 2004; Branson, 1999; Quigley & Hoar, 1997; Miron & Dhillon, 2004; Quigley et. al, 1997).
Active, sustained participation is only possible if children learn citizenship concepts and skills as a component of their formal education. In a democracy, the responsibility to teach children how to be active citizens falls upon all teachers; and to a large extent, instruction in citizenship is the domain of the social studies teacher (Nelson, 2004). Civics skills, typically defined by social studies educators, include those skills necessary for a person to be an active participant in a democracy. In the classroom, this translates into skills such as critical analysis, writing, debate and mediation (Patrick, Vontz, Metcalf, 2003; Pepper, 2004)....
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