#civics objectives

Usually in a presentation by curriculum developers of some new curricular strategy, they offer a short rationale for the new plans and then present a list of goals and objectives.  Of late, this blog has been promoting a curricular change in American civics classrooms – a promotion that started with the posting, “A Practical Turn” (March 19, 2024).

That change targets the underlying mental construct that currently guides civics education.  That construct is the natural rights view that focuses on the national electorate and the national government.  Most of the lessons review the major structures, processes, and functions of the national government.  The proposed change would be to a consumer government approach. 

This shift would retain to some degree the individualistic view that the natural rights construct supports.  But it would have students’ focus be aimed at local political realities and, therefore, draw their attention to their communities where most consumer issues are centered, at least as they are experienced by most citizens. 

In other words, this change is seen as a midway step toward a more communal approach that would be provided by the adoption of the liberated federalist construct.  All these terms have been defined in previous postings, but for the purposes here it suffices to know that the natural rights view is individualistic, the federalist view is significantly communal, and consumer government is concerned with citizens, either individually or in groups, seeking services from government.

          Since this blog’s presentation is not formally stating a curricular change at some school district or state education department, the goal has been to just introduce this suggested change to a general audience.  As such, what has been described to this point has been more of an introduction to certain curricular ideas.  Therefore, this informal approach seems more useful for this blog’s purposes.  But it is time to set out a list of goals and objectives.

          Here they are, curricular goals and objectives for a consumer government curriculum.

Curriculum goals:

Understand the major structural, procedural, and functional features of the federal, state, and local governments.

Responsibly and rationally propose solutions to a series of individual and/or group political problems or issues.  Each of these problems or issues features a government role and the interests of individuals and/or groups.  They emanate from the following environments:  self/home, neighborhood, city/town, county, state, nation, international.

Appreciate the functional role of academic disciplines – in terms of their findings and research protocols – play in solving related governmental challenges.

Define self-interest in problem/issue situations involving governmental agencies.

And for each goal, the following objectives:

Goal 1 –

Comprehend the major structures, processes, and functions of the federal, state, and local governments.

List the major components of the federal, state, and local governments.

List the functions of selected components of the federal, state, and local governments.

Give examples of how the major components of the federal, state, and local governments interact.

Describe the major problem issues currently being addressed by the chief components of the federal, state, and local governments.

Goal 2 –

Be able to solve responsibly and rationally a series of individual or group problems involving governments emanating from a variety of environments.

Define problem/issues situations according to the following concerns:  a.  Does the situation affect the interests of oneself or of significant others (e.g., a family member)?  b.  Does the solution of the problem/issue involve the application of an established process entailing no or few options or does it demand investigation, valuing, and choosing from alternatives?

Define chief political and ethical concepts involved with problem/issue situations.

Describe factual information involved with problem/issue situations.

Investigate, using mostly disciplinary content and methods, the problem/issue situation to attain relevant information.

Formulate a course of action aimed at reasonably and ethically solving the problem/issue under study.

Goal 3 –

Appreciate the functional role that academic discipline methods or other responsible research methods and content play in solving problems/issues involving governments.

Accept readily the role of disciplines and of other responsible research protocols’ content and methods.

Verbalize the need for disciplinary and other responsible research protocols in terms of their content and methodologies in decision-making efforts as they deal with people’s interaction(s) with government.

Voluntarily utilize disciplinary and other responsible research protocols’ content and methods in performing unit of study activities.

Goal 4 –

Define self-interest in problem/issue situations involving governmental agencies.

Logically deduce from stated life goals appropriate defensible values as they relate to problem/issue situations under study.

Analyze problem/issue situations and identify the involved self-interests they entail.

Formulate strategies that are conducive to stated values and self-interest claims and logically address the problem/issue situation under study.

Evaluate previous relevant value positions according to new problem/issue situations and information discovered by conducted research.