Standardizing the Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes for Democratic Life: A Content Analysis of Virginia Standards of Learning and Social Studies Textbooks
This content analysis explored how Civics and Government textbooks and the Virginia Standards of Learning for Civics and Government courses reflect citizenship outcomes, specifically deconstructing the unique needs of marginalized students. The coding frame was constructed by using themes and categories from previous literature, specifically highlighting Kahne and Westheimer's (2003) three Cs (Commitment, Connection, Capacity) framework. The findings support previous literature, which suggest that civics textbooks and state standards emphasize individual rights and a philosophy of liberalism, but deemphasize civic ideals of collectivism and a classical republicanism philosophy based on deliberation and community action. Furthermore, the findings illuminate the lack of content that provides authentic examples for marginalized students in the narrative of American democracy.