An Ethnographic Study of Democratic Citizenship Education in Elementary School: Implications for Social Studies Teacher Education.

A study was conducted in order to determine the specific classroom qualities and characteristics that promote and motivate students to develop attitudes and behaviors conducive to civic participation. One classroom is a bi-lingual sixth grade, located in an older neighborhood school in a coastal southern California city and the other is a predominately white fifth grade in a new neighborhood school in a small Indiana city. These classrooms were studied using observation and participant observation techniques. Data were also collected from interviews with teachers, students, school principals, parents, and social service agencies involved with the target school communities. The study findings generated two main assertions: (1) in classrooms where democratic elements such as providing student choice, shared responsibility, shared decision-making, and deliberate opportunities for student civic participation are present, students begin to accept more responsibility for their immediate community; and (2) when the school principal makes student civic participation a high priority, democratic elements and civic participation becomes more successful. Implications for classroom teachers, educators, and further research are given. Contains 47 references. (MM)