The Civically Engaged Districts Project
Nurturing Youth Civic Voice and Engagement
The Civically Engaged Districts project promotes active, youth-centered civic learning for all students.
We do this by supporting the integration of civic action research (also known as youth participatory action research, or YPAR) into K12 classrooms.
In civic action research, young people work collaboratively to choose a concern to investigate, conduct original research in their schools and communities, share what they've learned and take action.
Youth-led civic action research is the heart of the Civically Engaged Districts project experience. Students are “citizens of the now” in these projects, analyzing, investigating and taking action on the issues that concern them the most.
The Civically Engaged Districts project is a collaboration between Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, and public school educators throughout the state of New Jersey.
