Equitable access to evidence-informed civics curricula provides children with the needed skills, competencies, agency, and bridges to connect their lived experiences to pedagogy within the classroom. Educators often rely on brokers, intermediaries, and boundary spanners within their immediate networks when searching for evidence-based pedagogical tools. The contested nature of civics curricula means that those searching for and disseminating evidence do so within a political ecology of actors and organizations vying to shape evidence that speaks to notions of citizenship and belonging. With this award, Kornbluh aims to understand the role of research evidence in the selection of civics curricula, with attention to political ecology, as well as document the strategies leveraged in the promotion of research evidence by intermediary actors. With mentorship from Elizabeth DeBray, Professor of Education at the University of Georgia, and Matthew Weber, Associate Professor of Communication at Rutgers University, Kornbluh will expand her expertise in educational policy and in analyzing large-scale web data.
How does the political context contribute to the use and promotion of evidence within civics education?
