Student Attitudes Towards and Impressions of Project Citizen-Ö?rencilerin Vatandaşlık Projesine Yönelik Tutum ve ?zlenimleri

Abstract

Project Citizen is a civic education curriculum used across the United States and internationally, yet research about its impact on students is undeveloped in the literature. This article reports the results of a preliminary study designed to answer the questions: What are students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of Project Citizen? How do their attitudes and perceptions compare to those of students who completed senior projects? Ten high school students and 23 first-year college students completed a questionnaire designed for this investigation. Our findings indicate that the high school students had positive perceptions of Project Citizen, and they self-reported an understanding and high levels of efficacy regarding civic responsibility. In contrast, the first-year college students had lower levels of efficacy regarding civic responsibility. Our findings suggest the importance of specific learning experiences to help students develop civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions and indicate the need for further research into civic programs such as Project Citizen. Vatandaşlık Projesi, Amerika Birle?ik Devletleri genelinde ve uluslararası alanda uygulanan bir vatanda? eğitimi program? olmakla birlikte bu projenin ö?renci üzerindeki etkisi hakk?nda alanda yap?lan çalışma say?s? oldukça s?n?rl?d?r. Bu makale, ?u sorulara yan?t bulmak için tasarlanm?? bir ön çalışmad?r: Ö?rencilerin Vatanda? Projesine kar?? tutum ve alg?lar? nelerdir? Bu projeye kat?lan ö?rencilerle daha önceki projelere kat?lan ö?rencilerin tutum ve alg?lar? kar??la?t?r?ld???nda ortaya ç?kan sonuçlar nelerdir? 10 lise ö?rencisi ve 23 üniversite birinci Sınıf ö?rencisine bu çalışma kapsam?nda bir anket uygulanm??t?r. Çal??ma sonuçlar? lise ö?rencilerinin Vatandaşlık Projesine yönelik olumlu alg?lar? oldu?unu göstermektedir. Ayr?ca bu ö?renciler uygulaman?n sivil sorumlulukla ilgili üzerlerinde önemli bir etki ve konuyu anlama yetisi geli?tirdi?ini ifade etmi?lerdir. Buna kar??l?k, projenin birinci Sınıf üniversite ö?rencilerine yönelik sivil sorumluluk ilgili etkisini? s?n?rl? kald??? görülmü?tür. Sonuçlar, ö?rencilerin yurtta?l?k bilgi, beceri ve e?ilimlerini geli?tirmeye yard?mc? olmak için özel ö?renme deneyimlerinin önemli oldu?unu ve bu Vatandaşlık Projesi gibi sivil programlar?n daha fazla ara?t?r?lmas? gerekti?ini göstermektedir.

Keywords

• civic education; Project Citizen; citizenship; senior projects

-

Öz

Assoc. Prof.Dr., Boise State University, [e-mail] GA., University of Wyoming, [e-mail]ık Projesi, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri genelinde ve uluslararası alanda uygulanan bir vatandaş eğitimi program olmakla birlikte projenin öğrenci üzerindeki etkisi hakkında literatürde eksik kalan bir konudur. Bu makale, şu sorulara yanıt bulmak için tasarlanmış bir ön çalışmadır: Öğrencilerin Vatandaş Projesine karşı tutum ve algıları nelerdir? Bu projeye katılan öğrencilerle daha önceki projelere katılan öğrencilerin tutum ve algıları karşılaştırıldığında ortaya çıkan sonuçlar nelerdir? 10 lise öğrencisi ve 23 üniversite birinci sınıf öğrencisine bu çalışma kapsamında bir anket uygulanmıştır. Çalışma sonuçları lise öğrencilerinin Vatandaşlık Projesine yönelik olumlu algıları olduğunu göstermektedir. Ayrıca bu öğrenciler uygulamanın sivil sorumlulukla ilgili üzerlerinde önemli bir etki ve konuyu anlama yetisi geliştirdiğini ifade etmişlerdir. Buna karşılık, projenin birinci sınıf üniversite öğrencilerine yönelik sivil sorumluluk ilgili etkisiniş sınırlı kaldığı görülmüştür. Sonuçlar, öğrencilerin yurttaşlık bilgi, beceri ve eğilimlerini geliştirmeye yardımcı olmak için özel öğrenme deneyimlerinin önemli olduğunu ve bu Vatandaşlık Projesi gibi sivil programların daha fazla araştırılması gerektiğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Öğrenci tutumları, vatandaşlık projesi, vatandaşlık eğitimi

Kaynakça

1. Black, S. (2000). Tomorrow's citizens. American School Board Journal, 187(7), 48-51.
2. Branson, M. S. (1999). Project Citizen: An introduction. Retrieved from http://www.civiced.org/papers/articles_branson99.html
3. Cawelti, G. (2006). The side effects of NCLB. Educational Leadership, 64(3), 64-68.
4. Center for Civic Education. (2011a). Civitas international programs. Retrieved from http://new.civiced.org/programs/civitas
5. Center for Civic Education. (2011b). Curricular programs. Retrieved from http://new.civiced.org/programs/project-citizen
6. Craddock, A. W. (2007). Developing context in international civic education projects. International Journal of Social Education, 21(2), 123-141.
7. Davies, I., Fulop, M., Hutchings, M., Ross, A., & Berkics, M. (2004). Citizenship and enterprise: Issues from an investigation of teachers' perceptions in England and Hungary. Comparative Education, 40(3), 363-384.
8. Davis, S. & Davis, J. (2007). Making the case for social studies—It’s our responsibility. Nation Council for the Social Studies: Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.ncss.org/advocacy.

9. Feldmann, D. (2010). The creation of an effective pilot course in high school civics: The Kentucky model. Ohio Social Studies Review, 46 (2), 29-35.
10. Glaser Consulting Group. (2004). An independent evaluation of civic education programs in Jordan, Egypt, and West Bank 2002-2003. Retrieved from http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=project_citizen_research
11. Gutierrez, R. (2010). The prevailing construct in civic education and its problems. Action in
12. Teacher Education, 32(2), 24-41. Hinde, E. R. (2005). Revisiting curriculum integration: A fresh look at an old idea. The Social Studies, 96(3), 105-111.
13. Hyslop-Margison, E. J., Hamalian, A., & Anderson, G. (2006). A critical examination of empirical research: The case of citizenship education. Theory and Research in Social Education, 34(3), 395-407.
14. Idaho Human Rights Education Center. (2011). Senior project. Retrieved from http://idaho-humanrights.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=34
15. Idaho State Department of Education. (2010). Frequently asked questions about new high school graduation requirements. Retrieved from http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/hs_grad_requirements/faq.htm
16. King, M. L. (1963, April 16). Letter from a Birmingham jail. Retrieved from the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania: http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
17. Laguardia, A., & Pearl, A. (2009). Necessary educational reform for the 2lst century: The future of public schools in our democracy. The Urban Review, 41(4), 352-368. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0115-9
18. Landsman, J., & Gorski, P. (2007). Countering standardization. Educational Leadership, 64(8), 40-44.
19. Leming, J. S., Ellington, L., & Schug, M. (2006). The state of social studies: A national random survey of elementary and middle school social studies teachers. Social Education, 70(5), 322-327.
20. Mason, T. C. (2009). Civic education in emerging democracies. Retrieved from http://new.civiced.org/resources/papers-and-speeches
21. McEachron, G. (2010). Study of allocated social studies time in elementary classrooms in Virginia: 1987-2009. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 34(2), 208-228.
22. Medina-Jerez, W., Bryant, C., & Green, C. (2010). Project Citizen: Students practice democratic principles while conducting community projects. Science Scope, 33(7), 71-75.
23. Medina-Jerez, W., Taylor, C., & Bryant, C. (2009). The implementation of Project Citizen in Bolivian schools: Perspectives from three teacher educators. International Journal of Progressive Education, 5(3), 6-24.
24. Nairne, J. (2008). Evaluation of We the People: Project Citizen summer institutes: How professional development translates into classroom instruction. Retrieved from http://www.civiced.org/pdfs/PC/PCsummInstEval2008.pdf
25. National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). The curriculum standards for social studies. Silver Spring, MD: National Council for the Social Studies.
26. Niemi, R. G., & Junn, J. (1998). Civic education: What makes students learn. New Haven: Yale University Press.
27. Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
28. Ochoa-Becker, A. S. (2007). Democratic education for social studies: An issues-centered decision making (2 nd ed.). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
29. Parker, W. C. (2003). Teaching democracy: Unity and diversity in public life. New York: Teachers College Press.
30. Pepper, K., Burroughs, S., & Groce, E. (2003). Teaching civic education in a democratic society: A comparison of civic education in Hungary and the United States. Educational Foundations, 17(2), 29-51.
31. Quigley, C. (1995). The role of civic education. Task force on civic education paper (Eric Document #403203). Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/ contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED403203
32. Rock, T. C., Heafner, T., O’Connor, K., Passe, J., Oldendorf, S., Good, A., & et al. (2006).
33. One state closer to a national crisis: A report on elementary social studies education in North Carolina schools. Theory and Research in Social Education, 34(4), 455-483. Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Kerr, D., & Losito, B. (2010). Initial findings from the IEA international civic and citizenship education study. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Retrieved from http://www.iea.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/ICCS/ICCS_2010_Initial_Findings.pdf
34. Senior Project Center. (2010). Senior project overview. Retrieved from http://www.seniorproject.net/Senior_Project_Overview.html
35. Shaunessy, E. (2004). The senior project and gifted education. Gifted Child Today, 27(3), 38-51.
36. Smith, J. & Kovacs, P. (2010). The impact of standards-based reform on teachers: The case of ‘No Child Left Behind.’ Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 17(2), 201-225.
37. Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
38. Von Zastrow, C. (2004). Academic atrophy: The condition of the liberal arts in America’s public schools. Washington, DC: Council for Basic Education.
39. Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 41(2), 237-269.