Recognizing the Role of Community in Civic Education: Lessons from Hull House, Highlander Folk School, and the Neighborhood Learning Community. Circle Working Paper 30

This study unearths and examines rich models of learning in which multiple institutions collaboratively play a role in promoting civic education. Using historical and ethnographic case study analysis, this paper addresses the research question: What is the role of community in civic education? Specifically, the author examines Hull House and the pioneering social settlement work of Jane Addams at the turn of the 20th century; democratic education for social change put into practice during the civil rights movement by Myles Horton, Septima Clark, Bernice Robinson, and others at the Highlander Folk School; and the Neighborhood Learning Community in St. Paul, Minnesota, a network of community institutions, schools, and higher education institutions which applies the lessons from Hull House and Highlander in its efforts to create a neighborhood culture of learning. Short overviews of these cases are given, as well as detailed lessons for the role of community in civic education. The cases in this study present important historical and contemporary models where educators commit to making change over longer periods of time; place a deliberate emphasis on comprehensive, relational, and public education; make learning relevant to people's everyday lives; recognize the creative powers of diversity through public work; utilize the talents and instincts of non-professionals; foster reciprocal relationships; and embrace flexibility and trust in the messiness of democracy. [This paper was produced by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), University of Maryland.]