Civic Education Works
Research confirms that students who receive a comprehensive and high-quality civic education are more likely to be informed and actively engaged citizens and voters.
Independent research confirms our resources produce clear and tangible benefits to students—even after controlling for gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Even more promising: more than half the students that play our games in school play them again at home on their own time.
iCivics materials improve students’ civic knowledge, civic attitudes, and core literacy skills. Students are challenged to learn and engage with the material, and have fun in the process. New evidence is pointing to the power of matching iCivics games with authentic civic engagement experiences.
Key Findings
In the 51st annual Phi Delta Kappa poll of public attitudes on education (2019):
- 97% of Americans said civics should be taught;
- 81% of teachers say students should be required to take a civics class
- Parents (78%), all adults (79%), and teachers (85%) say schools should teach values as well as factual information
- 87–97% of all adults say public school classes on values should cover honesty, civility, respect for authority, and acceptance of people of different religions
- 81% say patriotism should be included
These findings mirror those of The Democracy Project report (2018) that found the most popular (89% support) initiative tested as a way to bolster democracy was to ensure that schools make civic education a bigger part of curriculum. This high level of support remained true across all age, gender, racial, political, socioeconomic, and geographic demographics.
Research Roundup
Prior Months’ Research Roundups:
Culturally Divisive Conflict Costly to School Districts Across the United States
Culturally divisive conflicts cost school districts across the United States a collective $3.2 billion annually, according to a national survey of superintendents conducted by researchers John Rogers, Rachel White, Robert Shand, and Joseph Kahne, with results published in a recent issue of the Peabody Journal of Education (2026, Vol. 101, No. 1, pp.6–19). The analysis of culturally divisive conflicts centers on teaching about issues of race and racism, rights and protections for LGTBQ+ students, and student access to a full range of books.
Direct costs accrued due to culturally divisive conflicts include enhanced security measures, media and community outreach, school board and government relations, and staff turnover. These costs were borne disproportionately by the degree of conflict experienced by a district, ranging from $25 per pupil for low-conflict districts to $80 per pupil for high-conflict districts.
These estimates do not account for the indirect costs, namely staff time redirected from otherwise productive tasks to manage conflicts instead. Moreover, superintendents bear a significant burden in weathering culturally divisive conflicts: 30% of superintendents feared for their own or their family’s personal safety during the 2023–2024 school year, half experienced at least once instance of harassment, and 10% received death threats or experienced property vandalism.
The authors conclude that culturally divisive conflicts are costly and highly disruptive of efforts to prepare the next generation for informed and effective engagement in our constitutional democracy. While they acknowledge that debates about how and what our children are taught in our diverse, politically heterogeneous country are inevitable, the authors insist that these conflicts be resolved civilly through established channels of local governance, most prominently school boards. Parents, members of the public, and school board members themselves should practice pluralism and model civic friendship. And we must invest in the capacity of educators, school leaders, and board members to manage culturally divisive conflicts as part of collegiate training and their ongoing professional development.
Interview conducted by the Philanthropy Roundtable in conjunction with the CivXNow Policy Summit (2021)
Interview conducted in conjunction with the CivXNow Policy Summit (2021)
What states can learn from the passage of an act to promote and enhance civic engagement (2020)
Interview with Michael A. Rebell regarding civic readiness in New York (2020)
Multiple developments in Florida promise to continue the state’s leadership in providing K-12 civic learning (2020)
Video from Democracy at a Crossroads Summit (2019)
CivxNow documentary showing Chicago’s George Washington High School’s transformation driven by the civic investment of teachers, students, parents, and community members (2019)
Report by the California Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning (2014)
