{"id":2677,"date":"2013-11-06T08:29:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-06T08:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2677"},"modified":"2026-10-18T09:26:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T09:26:59","slug":"educating-citizens-an-auc-priority-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2677","title":{"rendered":"Educating Citizens: An AUC Priority? \u2013 Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published on:<\/strong> November 6, 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part 1, I argued that educating citizens, and especially critical citizenship, has to become an AUC priority, and this must be discussed and debated at all levels of the Institution. In part 2, I propose to present some specific suggestions that may facilitate such a discussion and, in particular, address the way in which such concerns can be embedded in the curriculum through Community-Based Learning. I start with a couple of critical points noted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities 2012 report, referred to in part 1, which highlights the fact that what is needed is not traditional civic classes as
such, but the need for students<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2026to understand the cultural and global contexts in which democracy is both deeply valued and deeply contested. Moreover, the competencies basic to democracy cannot be learned only by studying books; democratic knowledge and capabilities are honed through hands-on, face-to-face, active engagement in the midst of different perspectives about how to address common problems that affect the well-being of the nation and the world. Civic learning that includes knowledge, skills, values, and the capacity to work with others on civic and societal challenges can help increase the number of informed, thoughtful, and public-minded citizens. Civic learning should prepare students with knowledge and for action in our communities. (AACU, 2012:1)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Thus, the report becomes an advocate of what, in pedagogical terms, we refer to as Community-Based Learning. The report also recognizes that such an academic endeavor also contributes to the development of other generic skills among students, which in turn enhance critical citizenship. For example, it highlights the following skills:
\u27a2 Critical inquiry, analysis, and reasoning capacities;
\u27a2 Quantitative reasoning;
\u27a2 Gathering and evaluating multiple sources of evidence
\u27a2 Seeking, engaging, and being informed by multiple perspectives;
\u27a2 Written, oral and multi-media communication;
\u27a2 Deliberation and bridge\u2010building across differences;
\u27a2 Collaborative decision\u2010making skills;
\u27a2 Open\u2010mindedness and capacity to engage different points of view and cultures;
\u27a2 Civic problem\u2010solving skills and experience;
\u27a2 Civility, ethical integrity, and mutual respect;
\u27a2 Integration of knowledge, skills, and examined values to inform action taken in concert with other people;
\u27a2 Public problem solving with diverse partners; and
\u27a2 Compromise, civility, and mutual respect. (AACU, 2012: 3)<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skills highlighted by the report are fundamental to Community-Based Learning, but can also be integrated into a variety of courses across the curriculum. To do so not only enhances critical citizenship but also high-quality scholarship and academic vigor. Thus, it is impossible to think that any professional academic would not agree to incorporate such skills in their respective courses. However, this may require some fine-tuning of a syllabus in order to incorporate such skills in the learning outcomes and to
identify appropriate methods to evaluate them. For example, \u201cwritten, oral and multimedia communication\u201d can swiftly be integrated by expecting students to make oral presentations and produce multimedia assignments alongside the conventional essays and\/or exam question answers. Admittedly, this presupposes a move away from \u201cmultiple-choice\u201d examinations, but the learning rewards for students are too significant to be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Furthermore, the report also highlights the results from a major study conducted in the USA in 2009, which notes that the percentage of college students who \u201cstrongly agree\u201d that contributing to the community should be a major focus of college is significantly higher than those who admit that it actually is. (AACU, 2012: 5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The table above suggests that students are keen on Community-Based Learning, but academics tend to shy away from it in favor of conventional theoretical and conceptual teaching and assessment. Furthermore, the drop in percentages from 45% in First Year to 38% in Senior Year of what is actually done also indicates that faculty in senior courses tend to emphasize even more conventional scholarship and learning strategies in order to produce first-rate scholars to the detriment of critical citizens. Thus, in conclusion, let me agree with Deardorff and Kupanda (2012: 345-46), who highlight the fact that the
ultimate goal of education is to produce \u201ca more just society\u201d by reminding us of education theory ranging from John Locke\u2019s comments in Two Treatises of Government to Paulo Freire\u2019s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Democracies need active, informed, and responsible citizens; citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the political process. AUC can produce such citizens through Community-Based Learning and contribute to Egypt\u2019s struggle for a democratic future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Sources<\/strong>
Association of American Colleges and Universities (2012). A Crucible Moment: College Learning
and Democracy\u2019s Future<\/em>, retrieved from: http:\/\/www.aacu.org\/civic_learning\/crucible<\/em><\/strong>
Deardorff, Michelle and Kupanda, Angela Mae (2011). Negotiating Social Mobilization and
Critical Citizenship: Institutions at a Crossroad. University of Florida Journal of Law and Public
Policy<\/em>, 22: 335-360.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published on: November 6, 2013 In part 1, I argued that educating citizens, and especially critical citizenship, has to become an AUC priority, and … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":2865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,168],"tags":[157],"class_list":["post-2677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pedagogy","category-volume-12","tag-issue-10"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/N7K_2057.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2677"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2869,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions\/2869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}