Educating for democracy

by

March 26, 2011 | Kettering Foundation |

Does it make sense for higher education to be talking about questions of citizenship and democracy at a time when many colleges and universities are grappling with issues like soaring tuition rates, underpaid faculty, and steep budget cuts at many state colleges and universities?

Yes, say both education leaders and citizens at large.

In this podcast, Scott London hosts a roundtable conversation with leaders from higher education and democracy activists about the what the civic mission of higher ed can and should be: service learning, voter information, or something deeper? London then talks to citizen leaders from some new organizations that are springing up around the country, generally on college campuses, that are going beyond conventional definitions of civic engagement. These new organizations are combining the best of what colleges and universities provide—civics courses, leadership development, service-learning programs, community-based research—with the kinds of hands-on, collaborative problem solving traditionally done by community organizations or NGOs.  London has also done a full report on this burgeoning network of organizations, called Doing Democracy.

Click here to play the podcast.

http://www.kettering.org/media_room/podcasts/ed_for_democracy_podcast