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American Public Education and the Responsibility of its Citizens: Supporting Democracy in the Age of Accountability

Online ISBN:
9780190692568
Print ISBN:
9780190657383
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

American Public Education and the Responsibility of its Citizens: Supporting Democracy in the Age of Accountability

Sarah M. Stitzlein
Sarah M. Stitzlein

Associate Professor of Education

Associate Professor of Education, University of Cincinnati
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Published online:
22 June 2017
Published in print:
1 August 2017
Online ISBN:
9780190692568
Print ISBN:
9780190657383
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Not only is the future of our public schools in jeopardy, so is our democracy. Public schools are central to a flourishing democracy, where children learn how to deliberate and solve problems together, build shared identities, and come to value justice and liberty. As citizen support for public schools wanes, our democratic way of life is at risk. While we often hear about the poor performance of students and teachers, the current educational crisis is at heart not about accountability, but rather about citizen responsibility. Yet citizens increasingly do not feel that public schools are our schools, that we have influence over them or responsibility for their outcomes. Citizens have become watchdogs of public institutions largely from the perspective of consumers, without seeing ourselves as citizens who compose the public of public institutions. Accountability becomes more about finding fault with and placing blame on our schools and teachers, rather than about taking responsibility as citizens for shaping our expectations of schools, determining the criteria we use to measure their success, or supporting schools in achieving those goals. This book sheds light on recent shifts in education and citizenship, helping the public to understand not only how schools now work, but also how citizens can take an active role in shaping them. It provides citizens with tools, habits, practices, and knowledge necessary to support schools. It offers a vision of how we can cultivate citizens who will continue to support public schools and thereby keep democracy strong.

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