Book Chapter: Politics 365: Fostering Campus Climates for Student Political Learning & Engagement

All college level teaching for political knowledge and engagement happens in the context of a campus climate, a combination of the norms, behaviors, attitudes, structures, and external influences that shape the student experience. In this chapter, the authors argue for attention to improving the campus environment as a means to increasing the pervasiveness and effectiveness of student development for civic engagement, political activism, and social action. This chapter reviews the findings from a nine-campus qualitative study of institutional climates for political learning and engagement in democracy, and the essential role faculty members, particularly political science professors, play in fostering a robust climate for learning for democracy. 

Chapter excerpted from Teaching Civic Engagement Across the Disciplines (2017).

Book Chapter: Politics 365: Fostering Campus Climates for Student Political Learning & Engagement