The hidden civic lessons of public and private schools.

The hidden civic lessons of public and private schools. Curriculum theory has long acknowledged the presence of a hiddencurriculum in schools. Whereas the formal curriculum is explicit anddocumented, the hidden curriculum involves those attitudes, experiences,and learnings that are largely implicit and unintended. This articlecompares the hidden civic lessons found in public and private schools.Catholic and other private schools have measurable organizationalstrengths that socialize so��cial��ize?v. so��cial��ized, so��cial��iz��ing, so��cial��iz��esv.tr.1. To place under government or group ownership or control.2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. students into participation in publicinstitutions more effectively than public schools. ********** Have schools lost their capacity to provide an effective civiceducation for youth? Do public schools today instill in��stillv.To pour in drop by drop.instil��lation n. democratic virtues,including the value of active participation in America's politicalinstitutions? Are schools able to solidify so��lid��i��fy?v. so��lid��i��fied, so��lid��i��fy��ing, so��lid��i��fiesv.tr.1. To make solid, compact, or hard.2. To make strong or united.v.intr. a long-lasting commitment topursuing the common good in civic life? Some social commentators and public policy analysts have soundedthe alarm about a rising tide Noun 1. rising tide - the occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide); "a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune" -Shakespeareflood tide, flood of civic education mediocrity me��di��oc��ri��ty?n. pl. me��di��oc��ri��ties1. The state or quality of being mediocre.2. Mediocre ability, achievement, or performance.3. One that displays mediocre qualities. inAmerica's schools (National Commission on Civic Renewal, 1998). Ofparticular concern is the apparent drastic decline in the youngergeneration's interest in politics, including sharp declines invoting among 18 to 25-year-old citizens (Keeter, Zukin, Andolina, &Jenkins, 2003; Putnam, 2000). Fingers have been pointed at civiceducation curriculum in public schools, and a fresh set of curricularstandards and guidelines guidelines,n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. has been proposed for revitalizing re��vi��tal��ize?tr.v. re��vi��tal��ized, re��vi��tal��iz��ing, re��vi��tal��iz��esTo impart new life or vigor to: plans to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods; tried to revitalize a flagging economy. civiceducation in America's classrooms (Center for Information andResearch on Civic Learning and Engagement, 2003). The problem with concentrating on civic education curriculum isthat what is taught in class is only a small part of the learningprocess in schools (Dreeben, 1968; Jackson, 1968; Waller, 1965). Thefocus of this article is on civic education that is unintended andmostly invisible to participants, but nonetheless potentially powerfulin shaping the civic attitudes and behavior of students. Nurturingdemocratic "habits of the heart" (Bellah, 1985) depends inpart on how schools are organized and how schools as institutions areexperienced by students. The civic education literature has notsystematically addressed the role of characteristics of schoolingorganizations, such as routine practices in the classroom and school,which indirectly teach norms, values, and orientations to public life.This article investigates how school organization and culture per se mayprovide a civic education without intending to do so. These hidden civiclessons may affect how students conceive of Verb 1. conceive of - form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case; "Can you conceive of him as the president?"envisage, ideate, imagine engagement in publicinstitutions later in life. Even less apparent in the civic education literature is attentionto whether and how school socialization socialization/so��cial��iza��tion/ (so?shal-i-za��shun) the process by which society integrates the individual and the individual learns to behave in socially acceptable ways. so��cial��i��za��tionn. varies by school sector in waysthat may have long-term implications for civic life. This article arguesthat Catholic and other private schools have organizational strengthsthat effectively socialize students into active and constructiveparticipation in public institutions. Though private schools of coursedo not represent "the public" in the same sense as publicschools, the collective identity and normative nor��ma��tive?adj.Of, relating to, or prescribing a norm or standard: normative grammar.nor climate in many privateschools provide a socialization experience in which students practicesociability and civic skills, and learn the importance of placing thecollective good above personal self-interest. These experiences, whichmay be particularly important since schools are one of the first andmost comprehensive socialization settings outside the family, may affectwhether students see their adult public involvement as a means toachieve individualistic in��di��vid��u��al��ist?n.1. One that asserts individuality by independence of thought and action.2. An advocate of individualism.in and self-interested ends, rather than thepursuit of the common good in the public square, whether they expect tofind (or work toward) solidarity or a struggle of all against all ininstitutions outside the family. In the following sections, I describeorganizational differences across school sectors that may havesignificant long-term consequences on student orientations to publicinstitutions. SCHOOL SOCIALIZATION AND CIVIC EDUCATION Civic education in schools is not only about teaching thehistorical development and workings of American democracy, but alsoabout teaching democratic values and principles in the classroom. Whatdo students learn about public life from their experience of schoolinstitutions? How do civic lessons vary across different types ofschooling organizations? Since the 1940s, if not before, public schools in American societyplayed a major role in initiating youth into public life. In Americanculture, public schools are seen as one of the foundations of democracy;they are charged with teaching civic virtues and public purposes in ademocracy (Meyer, Tyack, Nagel, & Gordon, 1979; Tyack & Hansot,1982). Public school legitimacy depends on this role of linking familyand public life through socialization of youth into democraticcitizenship (Gutmann, 1987; Macedo, 1990; Nie, Junn, &Stehlik-Barry, 1996). How are public schools to accomplish the task of democraticsocialization? One common notion is that public schools offer civics civics,branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the latter half of the 19th cent. courses, which teach democratic virtues, the mechanics of democraticparticipation, and an appreciation of the historical struggle to buildAmerican democracy. Another way public schools provide democraticlessons is by uniting the diversity of a community in one institution,which builds on and reinforces the collective identity of the community,and teaches the importance of setting aside parochialism pa��ro��chi��al?adj.1. Of, relating to, supported by, or located in a parish.2. Of or relating to parochial schools.3. in the pursuitof the common good. The public school system, American culture tells us,is the institutional locus of the American melting pot melting potAmerica as the home of many races and cultures. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc.]See : America . Or so it seemed. One of the primary challenges to the idealized i��de��al��ize?v. i��de��al��ized, i��de��al��iz��ing, i��de��al��iz��esv.tr.1. To regard as ideal.2. To make or envision as ideal.v.intr.1. picture of publicschools and civic socialization is the changing relationship betweenfamilies, communities, and public schools (Epstein, 2001). Even earlierin the 20th century, some would argue, public schools were never quitethis virtuous; in practice, the civic education of public schools washeavily slanted toward the interests of dominant fractions of thecommunity, such as White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (Jorgenson, 1987;Ravitch, 1974). Whatever the historical reality, it is clear that socialconditions have created new challenges for the civic role of publicschools. Communities, or collective identities, are less bounded bygeography, which makes it much more difficult for the public schools tofunction as an institutional expression of a geographically definedcommunity (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987). Perhaps as a result of culturalpluralism cultural pluralism:see multiculturalism. at the community level, over time, public schools have comeunder political pressure from various pressure groups (Ravitch, 2000),which have made it necessary for schools to attempt to satisfy diversespecial interests. This political context disrupts the expression ofcommunity through the public schools, and pushes public schools toward abureaucratic bu��reau��crat?n.1. An official of a bureaucracy.2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure.bu organizational form in order to enforce neutrality towardand equality for each individual (Chubb & Moe, 1990). Thecombination of social change and restructuring of public schools on thelocal level raises questions about whether civic education socializationis possible in many of today's public schools. The common conception of most private schools, and especiallyreligious schools, sees them as having an inherent disadvantage inproviding democratic socialization. First, their student body does notrepresent the entire population within a particular geographic boundary;they do not bring together the entire diversity of a community. Theysimply are not "public" in the literal sense of being fundedby government money and of expressing a collective identity of a diversegeographic community. And religious schools are believed to be sectarian sec��tar��i��an?adj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sect.2. Adhering or confined to the dogmatic limits of a sect or denomination; partisan.3. Narrow-minded; parochial.n.1. and overly authoritarian institutions, which further isolate students inreligious "total" worlds (Peshkin, 1986; Rose, 1988). Thebasis of collective trust in these school organizations, according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. some research, is best described as "organic," in whichmembers of the school have unquestioning allegiance to school authority(Bryk & Schneider, 2002). If true, we would expect that religiousschool students are ill-prepared for democratic participation, or atleast we would expect that they would be better prepared to participatein democracy if they did not attend religious schools. There is reason to question this sharp dichotomy di��chot��o��my?n. pl. di��chot��o��mies1. Division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions: "the dichotomy of the one and the many"Louis Auchincloss. between the publicpurposes of public schools, and the private and sectarian interests ofreligious schools. Would democratic socialization of religious schoolstudents differ that substantially if they instead attended theirneighborhood public school? Probably not. To begin with, the picture ofreligious schools as sectarian, counter-cultural institutions isoverdrawn o��ver��draw?v. o��ver��drew , o��ver��drawn , o��ver��draw��ing, o��ver��drawsv.tr.1. To draw against (a bank account) in excess of credit.2. . Even conservative religious schools are a collage collage(kəläzh`, kō–)[Fr.,=pasting], technique in art consisting of cutting and pasting natural or manufactured materials to a painted or unpainted surface—hence, a work of art in this medium. ofChristian and American cultural strands; the most conservative Christianschools absorb much from the surrounding cultural milieu mi��lieun. pl. mi��lieus or mi��lieux1. The totality of one's surroundings; an environment.2. The social setting of a mental patient.milieu[Fr.] surroundings, environment. (Wagner, 1990).There is not an impenetrable im��pen��e��tra��ble?adj.1. Impossible to penetrate or enter: an impenetrable fortress.2. Impossible to understand; incomprehensible: impenetrable jargon. boundary between religious schools and thesurrounding community and culture. Outside of a small minority offundamentalist fundamentalistAn investor who selects securities to buy and sell on the basis of fundamental analysis. Compare technician. schools, most Christian schools, even conservativeProtestant schools, are not marked by "more or less unquestioningbeliefs ... in the moral authority of the particular socialinstitution," where trust is given "unconditionally"(Bryk & Schneider, 2002, p. 16). This type of "organic"trust is made nearly impossible by the diversity of Christiantraditions, the pervasiveness of teen culture in media andentertainment, the market forces that push religious schools to expandtheir potential customer base, and so on (Sikkink, 2001). Nor would weexpect tight and harmonious connections between public schools and theirgeographic communities. Moreover, these ideal types--public schools, thesource of democratic socialization and experience and religious schools,a "total" world focused on private ends--do not carefullyconsider the student experience of school as an institution, and theeffect this may have on student orientations to public life. What are the organizational characteristics of schools that fostereffective democratic socialization? The answer obviously depends on howone defines what students need to learn to participate well in publicinstitutions in their adult life. If we assume that students shouldexperience a school as a place of collective mission and engagement, aplace in which norms place individual self-interest subordinate to thecollective good of the institution--analogous to ideal publicinstitutions--then many public schools may not provide a social contextconducive con��du��cive?adj.Tending to cause or bring about; contributive: working conditions not conducive to productivity.See Synonyms at favorable. to democratic socialization. School climate may matter forwhat is learned about civic life, which may in turn affect how studentsthink about public institutions and how to operate within them. HIDDEN CIVIC CURRICULUM: LATENT Hidden; concealed; that which does not appear upon the face of an item.For example, a latent defect in the title to a parcel of real property is one that is not discoverable by an inspection of the title made with ordinary care. CIVIC SOCIALIZATION IN SCHOOLS In 1968, Dreeben took an innovative look at what is learned inschools. He focused on the "hidden" curriculum, the routinepractices of classroom life that socialize students into adultroles--socialization that is "invisible" rather thanexplicitly taught (Brint, Contreras, & Matthews, 2001). What islearned in school, he argued, is not simply the three "Rs,"but the fact that the norms and practices of life outside the family arevery different than life in the home. Children learn in school that theparticularistic par��tic��u��lar��ism?n.1. Exclusive adherence to, dedication to, or interest in one's own group, party, sect, or nation.2. values of the home, in which personal relationshipsgovern reward and punishment for example, would have to give way inpublic life to universalism UniversalismBelief in the salvation of all souls. Arising as early as the time of Origen and at various points in Christian history, the concept became an organized movement in North America in the mid-18th century. , in which all children are treatedinterchangeably as members of a general category without regard fortheir particular characteristics and relationships. Relationships withina school organization are "specific" rather than diffuse diffuse/dif��fuse/1. (di-fus��) not definitely limited or localized.2. (di-fuz��) to pass through or to spread widely through a tissue or substance.dif��fuseadj. :multidimensional relationships in the family are supplementedincreasingly with relationships animated by a single purpose as childrenmove through their school years. Children also learn that they will betreated as autonomous individuals rather than as persons embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. infamilies and communities, and they learn norms for individualachievement through recurrent evaluation in school (Dreeben, 1968). This type of school socialization has been dubbed dub?1?tr.v. dubbed, dub��bing, dubs1. To tap lightly on the shoulder by way of conferring knighthood.2. To honor with a new title or description.3. the "hiddencurriculum." Children learn through participation in a particulartype of organization, which embeds principles of conduct and norms thatgovern relationships between various organizational roles. By learningthese roles and principles, children are socialized so��cial��ize?v. so��cial��ized, so��cial��iz��ing, so��cial��iz��esv.tr.1. To place under government or group ownership or control.2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. into norms ofbehavior for public institutions outside the family, and, in many ways,Dreeben would argue, prepared to participate in work organizations andin the polity. These norms, expectations, values, and orientations arenot explicitly taught by school personnel, but they are learned throughthe practice of schooling. In a different approach to the importance of a hidden curriculum,Bowles and Gintis (1976) emphasized that what is learned in school areorientations that prepare students for hierarchical relations in theworkplace. They argued that school organization serves to prepareworking class kids for working class jobs, and middle class kids formanagement positions, which grant authority and demand creativity(Willis, 1981). Again, this socialization effect is not entirelyintended, but is an outcome of the organization of schooling--and it mayhave implications for orientations to civic life. What do the roles and principles of schooling organizations teachabout participation in civic life? Dreeben would argue that youth gainexpectations about what institutions outside the family are like, andhow one is supposed to operate within them. In particular, studentslearn the values of universalism and individualism individualismPolitical and social philosophy that emphasizes individual freedom. Modern individualism emerged in Britain with the ideas of Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, and the concept was described by Alexis de Tocqueville as fundamental to the American temper. , and this preparesthem for participating in a democratic polity (Dreeben, 1968). Dreebenargued that the success of the two-party democratic system requiredcitizens who had learned and internalized the orientations ofindividualism, achievement, and universalism--just the orientations thatDreeben found in the hidden curriculum in schools. We might ask whether school socialization has changed since Dreebenwrote about what is learned in school. Recent work by Steven Brint andcolleagues (Brint et al., 2001) on the content of socialization withinschools takes a comprehensive look at the value messages conveyed inteacher-student interaction, classroom materials, school rituals, andschool organization. This work argues that the primary values learned inschool are the importance of hard work and individual effort,orderliness, and, to a lesser extent, respect for others. Brint andcolleagues agree with Dreeben that one of the key avenues of learning inschools is through routine practices embedded in classroom and schoolorganization. As Dreeben found decades earlier, values of individualismand achievement remain a strong part of the hidden curriculum. But thehidden curriculum has expanded to include other forms of socializationimplicit in Adj. 1. implicit in - in the nature of something though not readily apparent; "shortcomings inherent in our approach"; "an underlying meaning"underlying, inherent the organization of the school and classroom. For example,token economies, in which approved behavior is rewarded with materialrewards, bring the competitive individualism and commodification Commodification (or commoditization) is the transformation of what is normally a non-commodity into a commodity, or, in other words, to assign value. As the word commodity has distinct meanings in business and in Marxist theory, commodification of thefree market into the classroom. On the other hand, group projects inclass offer opportunities to develop sociability and leadership skills.Activity centers and rotations increase the importance of variety andchoice--which builds on and fosters cultural themes of expressiveindividualism (Bellah, 1985)--in the classroom experience. The work of Brint and colleagues goes a long way toward confirmingthat routine school practices still constitute an implicit curriculum inpublic schools, and, though Brint and colleagues do not focus on civiceducation, they note that the hidden curriculum has implications forcivic education. The organizational imperative for orderliness in publicschools, they argue, leads to a narrowing of the definition ofcitizenship. Essentially, "good citizenship" is redefinedaccording to organizational interest of public schools in order andconformity. Citizenship has little to do with civic participation anddemocratic virtues, but with not creating discipline problems in school.While "following the school rules" may have some relationshipwith respect for legitimate authority within other public institutions,the notion of citizenship is greatly impoverished when put in service oforderliness and conformity at school. While raising concern aboutwhether public schools are providing an effective civic education, thebroader point of interest is that organizational culture within schoolsshapes civic "lessons" in school. The hidden curriculum remains powerful for civic education, but wemust broaden our view of what specifically about schools affects civicorientations of students. Beyond learned values of universalism, thegeneral experience of schooling institutions shapes how children viewother public institutions, such as government, and shapes behavioralexpectations within these public spheres. Here we are diverging di��verge?v. di��verged, di��verg��ing, di��verg��esv.intr.1. To go or extend in different directions from a common point; branch out.2. To differ, as in opinion or manner.3. slightlyfrom the specific claims of Dreeben's model regarding the fitbetween socialization in schools and participation in U.S. politicallife. First, it is not clear that Dreeben's focus on individualismand universalism are the only value orientations that are important forthe success of U.S. democracy. These value orientations prepareAmericans for a particular type of civic participation, one in whichconduct in political institutions is centered in the struggle ofcompeting (private) interests, with outcomes dependent on coalitionformation and majority votes. This view tends to sideline sidelineSee on the sidelines. other visionsof a healthy democracy in which the common good and collective purposeshave pride of place, and a struggle of pluralistic plu��ral��is��tic?adj.1. Of or relating to social or philosophical pluralism.2. Having multiple aspects or parts: "the idea that intelligence is a pluralistic quality that ... interest groupscannot achieve these higher collective concerns. In this view,persuasion PERSUASION. The act of influencing by expostulation or request. While the persuasion is confined within those limits which leave the mind free, it may be used to induce another to make his will, or even to make it in his own favor; but if such persuasion should so far operate on the mind and debate, social trust and personal sacrifice, are central"civic skills" for democratic participation (Verba, Schlozman,& Brady, 1995). Effective participation in civic life depends ondeveloping civic skills, including social trust and sociability, and thewillingness to set aside personal self-interest in public debate overthe common good. This vision of a vital democratic life highlights theimportance of a school experience that includes the practice of trustand sociability, as well as the experience of putting collectivepurposes above private interests. Second, the increasing emphasis in public schools on the values ofuniversalism and individualism may not have the positive effect onparticipating in the polity that Dreeben expected. A relatively lowthreshold, an organization that embodies these value orientations,foments student alienation alienation,in property laws: see tenure. alienationIn the social sciences context, the state of feeling estranged or separated from one's milieu, work, products of work, or self. from the schooling organization, which mayshape student orientations to public life. Dreeben (1968) mentions thispossibility, but sees it as either the experience of a minority orlimited to normal adjustment as students learn how to behave outside thefamily. Social conditions have made the experience of alienation fromschool institutions much more problematic in public schools. Third, achievement, individualism, and universalism are not theonly orientations implicit in school organization that may have animpact on student orientations to public life. Dreeben misses theimportance of collective identity formation at schools for the extentand type of civic participation in adult life. Much of Dreeben'sfocus is on teachers' activities in the classroom, which sanction sanction,in law and ethics, any inducement to individuals or groups to follow or refrain from following a particular course of conduct. All societies impose sanctions on their members in order to encourage approved behavior. particular norms for behavior outside the family. School-level processescome into play in his model, but are primarily limited to issues ofclass size, age grading and promotion, and evaluation. The discussion inthe next section adds that the relationship of collective and individualidentity formation must be considered to understand the relationshipbetween school socialization and adult civic participation. BEYOND UNIVERSALISM AND INDIVIDUALISM: HOW SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONSHAPES CIVIC SOCIALIZATION What are the particular characteristics of school organizationsthat constitute the hidden civic curriculum in schools? Severalorganizational characteristics of schools may affect studentsocialization in ways that influence views of civic life. The followingattempts to identify characteristics of the social experience in schoolthat are likely to shape a student's orientation to civic life. What most likely would not contribute to effective civicsocialization is an experience of school as a collection of isolated andmarginalized individuals or small cliques. A school organization that isexperienced by most students as an alienating al��ien��ate?tr.v. al��ien��at��ed, al��ien��at��ing, al��ien��ates1. To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. environment, in whichstudents have no sense of belonging to the school, may provide a lessonabout public life: that one should not expect to find solidarity andcommunity when entering public institutions. This experience mayincrease cynicism CynicismSee also Pessimism.Antisthenes(444–371 B. C.) Greek philosopher and founder of Cynic school. [Gk. Hist.: NCE, 121]Apemantuschurlish, sarcastic advisor of Timon. [Br. Lit. about and mistrust of public institutions, and maydiminish the expectation that public institutions are about the pursuitof the common good. Of course, it may be the case that a sense ofalienation from one's school does not have a profound andlong-lasting effect on youth's orientation to civic institutions.But this alienating organizational environment would be a missedopportunity for youth to experience social solidarity Social Solidarity is the degree or type (see below) of integration of a society. This use of the term is generally employed in sociology and the other social sciences.According to ��mile Durkheim, the types of social solidarity correlate with types of society. and a"functional" community, that is, a community with denseoverlapping social networks marked by normative consensus (Coleman,1988)--key ingredients of a healthy civic life. The hidden civic curriculum may be detrimental det��ri��men��tal?adj.Causing damage or harm; injurious.detri��men in a similar way ifstudents experience school as a competitive and individual struggle forpersonal advantage. The notion that competitive individualism is theorganizing principle of public institutions, such as the market andpolitics, may be reinforced in several ways within schools. A limitedexample is the extent to which schools are experienced as a physicalstruggle for power--between students as well as between students andteachers. When students feel unsafe in school, this experiencereinforces views of public institutions as a necessary evil, in whichparticipation is not about responsible citizenship, but individualsurvival. A more direct example is the type of school that is organizedaround an individualistic and competitive struggle to "getahead." What students may learn in school is that educationalinstitutions are essentially a staging ground for the private pursuit ofelite colleges, and high status and well paying jobs (Cookson &Persell, 1985). Or the school may be experienced by students as anindividual pursuit of prestige among peers. While these aspects ofschool organization are inevitable to some degree, if thisorganizational culture dominates, and is not balanced with collectivepurpose and mission at the school, the hidden curriculum in schools mayreinforce the view that participation in public life is about thecompetitive and individualistic struggle for private advantage. Take for example the argument of Bowles and Gintis (1976) on schoolsocialization. They argue that the primary way in which students areprepared for relations in the workplace is through socialization into aschool organization that is marked by an individualistic and competitivestruggle, which parallels social relations in the free market economy.We would expect that this type of school socialization would not preparestudents well for participation in democratic institutions designed toarrive at a collective good, rather than the imposition of the specialinterests of the powerful. Implicit in these examples of negative organizational effects onstudent civic socialization is that schools that foster a sense ofcollective identity among students, school personnel, and parents willprovide a better civic education for students. Schools that are moresuccessful in fostering meaningful school identities--a sense of"we-ness" within the school--that become an important part ofindividual identity formation for students will teach "civiclessons" about expectations and norms for behavior outside thefamily. The organizational culture of these schools, which Anthony Brykand colleagues (Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993) call"communal" organizations, fosters civic skills that improveparticipation in public life in the adult years. For example, schoolswith stronger collective identities are likely to increase social trustof students, and, as Putnam (2000) argues, social trust is a keydimension of active civic participation. School organizational culturesthat temper competitive individualism, professionalism, and bureaucracywith "relational trust," which is predicated on mutualrespect, perceived competence, personal regard for others, and integrity(Bryk & Schneider, 2002), create the kind of a school environmentthat models the civic life that we hope for in a democracy. SCHOOL SECTOR AND HIDDEN CIVIC CURRICULUM Dreeben (1968) limited his focus to public schools, but it isimportant to consider variation in school socialization by sector. Howare different types of schools equipped for imparting im��part?tr.v. im��part��ed, im��part��ing, im��parts1. To grant a share of; bestow: impart a subtle flavor; impart some advice.2. a"hidden" civic education? Are there systematic differencesacross school sectors? In general, what differences would we expectbetween public and private schools that would affect civic education forstudents? The work of Brint and colleagues (Brint et al., 2001) offers onetantalizing tan��ta��lize?tr.v. tan��ta��lized, tan��ta��liz��ing, tan��ta��liz��esTo excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. suggestion that school socialization differs markedly acrossschools sectors. Brint includes 2 private schools in his sample of 64schools, and includes a footnote Text that appears at the bottom of a page that adds explanation. It is often used to give credit to the source of information. When accumulated and printed at the end of a document, they are called "endnotes." on a major difference between thepublic schools and one of the private schools. The private schoolcreated an organizational culture and institutional mission focused oncharacter formation. Data limitations precluded a careful analysis ofpublic and private school differences in the work of Brint andcolleagues. What remains to be done is to follow this lead on schoolsector differences in school socialization, and uncover the implicationsfor civic education of differences in the school socializationenvironment. In this section, I account for organizational differencesacross school sector, which shape the "hidden" civiccurriculum. PUBLIC SCHOOLS What makes it difficult for most public schools to provide aneffective civic education is that they tend to be organized alongbureaucratic lines and operated according to a rational or legal basisof authority. Research shows that public schools are increasinglyorganized along rationalistic ra��tion��al��ism?n.1. Reliance on reason as the best guide for belief and action.2. Philosophy The theory that the exercise of reason, rather than experience, authority, or spiritual revelation, provides the primary , hierarchical, and bureaucratic lines(Meyer, 1992; Morrow mor��row?n.1. The following day: resolved to set out on the morrow.2. The time immediately subsequent to a particular event.3. Archaic The morning. & Torres, 1995; Salganik & Karweit, 1982).The post-World War II historical process in which schooling governanceand funding shifted from local to state and national levels is one partof the development of a rational, bureaucratic public schooling system(Carnoy & Levin lev��in?n. ArchaicLightning.[Middle English levene, levin; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.] , 1985; Kraushaar, 1972; Meyer & Rowan, 1983;Meyer, Scott, & Strang, 1986, 1994; Ravitch, 1983; Tyack, 1974). Recent research has shown that public schools areperformance-oriented bureaucracies, which have organizationalimperatives of individual achievement, conformity, and order (Brint etal., 2001; Lortie, 1975). In this organizational setting, the norms thatgovern behavior tend to be limited to rational, technical, and"objective" or "neutral" criteria (Arons, 1983;Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1978). Public schooling interests, such aseducators, professional organizations, and administrators, unable toagree on the meaning of education, focus on technical, bureaucraticprocess, rather than establishing agreement on a normative educationalmission (Nord, 1995). This tends to strip specific content to thenormative environment in public schools. The basis of organizationallegitimacy is grounded for the most part in "contractualtrust." The dominant culture in this type of organization placesthe individual and the institution in a more adversarial ad��ver��sar��i��al?adj.Relating to or characteristic of an adversary; involving antagonistic elements: "the chasm between management and labor in this country, an often needlessly adversarial . . . relation to oneanother. In an organizational culture of contractual trust: The basis for social exchange is primarily material and instrumental. Although personal friendships may arise over time through repeated interactions, social-psychological motivations remain modest, and the moralethical dimension is weak or nonexistent. A contract defines basic actions to be taken by the parties involved. (Bryk & Schneider, 2002, p. 17) Note that Bryk and Schneider do not claim that the contractualbasis of trust defines many school organizations. The contractual basisof trust provides the dominant form of legitimacy for public schoolorganizations, and is invoked when conflict arises within the schoolcommunity (Arum arum,common name for the Araceae, a plant family mainly composed of species of herbaceous terrestrial and epiphytic plants found in moist to wet habitats of the tropics and subtropics; some are native to temperate zones. , Beattie, Pitt, Thompson, & Way, 2003). Instead of active socialization in the specific aspects ofcharacter and virtue, Brint et al. (2001) find that teachers tend toavoid normative discussions with explicit content except in the sporadic sporadic/spo��rad��ic/ (spo-rad��ic) occurring singly; widely scattered; not epidemic or endemic. spo��rad��icor spo��rad��i��caladj.1. Occurring at irregular intervals.2. and isolated cases in which classroom disruption or student conflictdemands it (in the name of the organizational imperative oforderliness). Bureaucratic organizational characteristics do not exhaust thesometimes conflicting forces that shape public school organizationalculture. Public schools are to some extent organized by professionalnorms (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1978). But the extent that public schools arerun in ways that make room for professionalism of teachers andadministrators, a separate basis of organization, does not make theschool friendlier to collective identity and mission formation than itis under bureaucratic norms. Professional norms may provide a basis forteacher unity, but professional norms disrupt bonds with other membersof the school community, especially parents. Rather than contributing tothe collective identity of the school community, professionalism orientsteachers and administrators to norms and communities well outsidewhatever local community exists (Lopez, Scribner, & Mahitivanichcha,2001; Sikkink, 1999). There are at least two implications of the bureaucratic andprofessional orientation of most public school organizations that mayaffect the hidden civic curriculum in public schools. The first regardsthe relation of the student to the school, the limits and content of thestudent "role." In the performance-oriented bureaucraticschools, students are constructed as individual clients and consumers ofservices, who necessarily look out for their own interests in a formaltransaction between school and student. This does not mean that publicschools do not attempt to foster collective identity, in which studentstake on a "we" orientation rather than simply remaining an"I." Brint et al. (2001) have shown that school socializationincludes efforts to get students to identify with the school. But theforms of collective identity fostered in a performance-orientedbureaucracy are thin--operating with little content or emotional energy.As Brint himself points out, the efforts toward building a collectiveidentity in the school tend to serve the mission of the school infostering individual performance and effort, and maintaining schoolorder. Students likely see that connection as well, which makes anauthentic collective identity more difficult to build. In short, this bureaucratic organizational form impedes theformation of collective identity within the school--at least acollective identity that is meaningful to students and contributes toindividual identity formation of students. In this context, it is lesslikely that schools can generate the kind of common mission in whichthey can legitimately set norms for community service, which isimportant for civic education (Center for Information and Research onCivic Learning and Engagement, 2003). Nor is it likely that studentswill gain a sense of personal obligation to participate in the civiclife of the school and community. Any civic participation that isgenerated through the school is likely to be considered as a formalrule, another hoop to jump through on the way to graduation and college,rather than a meaningful activity that emerges out of and is legitimatebecause of a student's participation in the collective identity ofthe school. Moreover, value messages that may relate to civicparticipation are refracted re��fract?tr.v. re��fract��ed, re��fract��ing, re��fracts1. To deflect (light, for example) from a straight path by refraction.2. through this organizational prism, whichreduces the effectiveness of school socialization in preparing studentsfor public life. Respect for others is reduced to a minimal sense of notdisrupting class or fighting with others. "Good citizenship"is redefined in terms of the organizational need for order andconformity (Brint et al., 2001). Rather than relating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accbehavior inpolitical institutions, it is defined as not creating disciplineproblems for school authorities. PRIVATE SCHOOLS In terms of school socialization, private schools may have anadvantage in civic education over today's public schools. Oneadvantage is rooted in the contrast between the bureaucratic form oforganization in public schools and the communal form of organization inreligious schools. A communal organization is organized less byhierarchical, contractual, and single-purpose relations("specificity," in Dreeben's [1968] terms) than bymultidimensional and personal relations marked by mutual obligation. InCatholic schools, for instance, professionalism is tempered in favor ofa personalism per��son��al��ism?n.1. The quality of being characterized by purely personal modes of expression or behavior; idiosyncrasy.2. that focuses on meaningful relationships within the school(Bryk et al., 1993). They are marked by a relatively strong sense ofmission, which draws normative sanction and legitimacy from religiousmoral communities. And religious schools provide a setting in whichvalue consensus can thrive (Coleman, Hoffer, & Kilgore, 1982). Thecommunal organization provides the basis for developing relational trust(Bryk & Schneider, 2002), in which the school culture embeds respectand personal regard for others. Moreover, the social organization ofreligious schools is marked by high levels of social capital (i.e.,social ties among parents, administrators and students marked by trustand mutual obligation), the experience of which may be important sincesocial capital tends to generate greater civic participation (Paxton,1999; Putnam, 2000). The result is that the communal form of organization, with itsstrong sense of a normative and binding school mission, combines withhigher levels of social capital to provide a strong basis for collectiveidentity formation within the school. A "communal" schoolorganization is not only more likely to generate a collective identityat the school level; school collective identity is more likely to playan important and meaningful role in the individual identity formation ofstudents. This private school organizational culture tends to offer a settingin which students experience and practice civic-mindedness. Communityservice activity, for example, is made meaningful for students--anexpression of a personal identity molded by the collective claims of theschool community, rather than being driven by interest in private gain.The enhanced role of school collective identities and the heightenedlevel of social capital among students increase the likelihood thatstudents find at school opportunities for practicing sociability andlearning norms of cooperation and collective service. In a communal formof school organization, students are more likely to experience school asa place in which solidarity is experienced, and participating in theschool "commons" trumps trump?1?n.1. Gamesa. A suit in card games that outranks all other suits for the duration of a hand. Often used in the plural.b. A card of such a suit.c. A trump card.2. self-interest. The participation inthis school community outside of the family provides an important modelfor participation in public life. What we are arguing, in sum, is that the organizational form ofschools is relevant to the civic education of students. Organizationalforms that build collective identity and solidarity, rather thaninterest group conflict and individualism, provide an importantsocialization experience that may contribute to positive orientations topublic institutions that affect behavior though the life course. Thatdiffering organizational forms matter for student experiences of schoolshould be evident in surveys of student attitudes toward and attachmentto their school. EVIDENCE ON CIVIC SOCIALIZATION DIFFERENCES ACROSS SCHOOL SECTORS If the above school sector arguments are correct, we should findthat, on average, private schools, and especially religious schools,have students who are more committed to and less alienated al��ien��ate?tr.v. al��ien��at��ed, al��ien��at��ing, al��ien��ates1. To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. from theirschool community. We should also find evidence that the school is afunctional community, in Coleman's sense (1988), which is marked bymutual respect and a legitimate normative order. I look to the National Household Education Survey (NHES NHES National Household Education SurveyNHES National Health Examination SurveyNHES Northern Hills Elementary School (various locations)), conductedby the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES NCES National Center for Education StatisticsNCES Net-Centric Enterprise Services (US DoD)NCES Network Centric Enterprise ServicesNCES Net Condition Event Systems ), for evidence forthese claims. The youth file of the NHES is a nationally representativetelephone survey of American teenagers from the sixth through 12thgrade. I used the 1996 version of the NHES, which includes questions onschool climate along with important controls for demographic variablesand church attendance. The total sample size is 7,940. Missing values In statistics, missing values are a common occurrence. Several statistical methods have been developed to deal with this problem. Missing values mean that no data value is stored for the variable in the current observation. are imputed Attributed vicariously.In the legal sense, the term imputed is used to describe an action, fact, or quality, the knowledge of which is charged to an individual based upon the actions of another for whom the individual is responsible rather than on the individual's by the NCES according to a hot-deck routine. The 1996 NHES dataset includes five questions that serve asindicators of student attachment in school, and the extent that theschool is a "functional" community, marked by mutual respectand a normative communal order, and relational trust. Students are askedto agree or disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people"hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" the following statements: "I enjoy school." "In my school, most students and teachers respect eachother." "In my school, the opinions of the students are listenedto." "My teacher maintains good discipline in the classroom." "The principal ... maintains good discipline in myschool." I use the first three statements as indicators of the quality ofthe community, including the level of trust among members of thecommunity. Relational trust within schools depends on respect forcommunity members (Bryk & Schneider, 2002), and this shouldespecially be reflected in the respect among students and teachers andthe respect for student voices at school. The last two measures areindicative of effective authority within the school community, which islikely to depend on the success of the community in imparting communalnorms for individual behavior. Again, in terms of relational trust inschools, perceived "competence" is a key factor in maintaininginstitutional trust, and, for school personnel, this is indicated bytheir ability to maintain an effective order in school (Bryk &Schneider, 2002). "I ENJOY SCHOOL" Figure 1 shows the percent of students in each sector that reportenjoying school. Most of the differences across school sector are notlarge, though the local public school students are the lowest on thismeasure of attachment to school. About 70% of local public schoolstudents report that they agree or strongly agree that they enjoyschool. The students at non-Catholic religious schools are highest onthis measure; 89% agree or strongly agree with the statement. Thisfinding is interesting, since the importance of education is generallythought to be lower within conservative Protestantism (Darnell &Sherkat, 1997), which comprise the majority of schools in this category(Sikkink, 2001). We would expect, though, that some part of the higher level ofschool enjoyment in private schools is due to the higher level ofeducation of parents of private school students. Perhaps students inprivate school would report equally high levels of enjoyment of schoolif they were in the local public school. The next step, then, is toaccount for variation in socioeconomic status and other demographiccharacteristics of students and their families, which may influencereports of enjoyment of school, and to test whether the differences inattachment to school remain. A regression analysis In statistics, a mathematical method of modeling the relationships among three or more variables. It is used to predict the value of one variable given the values of the others. For example, a model might estimate sales based on age and gender. will allow us tocontrol for socioeconomic and other differences across families inpublic and private schools that may account for the differences inFigure 1. Since we are concerned that the factors that select familiesinto private schooling may also be related to our measures of schoolclimate, we include an extensive set of controls to level the playingfield between the school sectors (see Table 1 for distribution ofselected independent variables). The controls included in this model and the models below includeseveral family and parent-level controls. Included are standarddemographic characteristics of parents, such as education, income,marital status marital status,n the legal standing of a person in regard to his or her marriage state. , and race, along with educational expectations of theparents for the child and the extent that parents talk to their childabout future plans for college or work. These educational expectationsvariables should capture some of the differences in school success andinvestment in education that may affect enjoyment of school. They alsoshould help to control for the factors that lead parents to chooseprivate schooling in the first place. As further controls for familydifferences, I include parent church attendance, parent civicinvolvement, home ownership, receipt of food stamps, and so forth. Themodels include controls for contextual variables, the poverty and racialdistribution of the family's residential neighborhood. To estimate the school sector effect, I first net out the effect ofseveral other child-level factors that may be related to school sectorand enjoyment of school, including the age, sex, and race of the child,work hours of the child during the school year, child's grades, thesize of the school, ethnic distribution of the school, childparticipation in out-of-school activities, and so on (see Table 2 forcomplete list). In the model for enjoyment of school, I also includedindicators for whether the child thinks the parents are too muchinvolved in their school, and one for those who think that parents aretoo little involved in school. Parent involvement in school is likely todiffer by sector, and this could shape student enjoyment of school. Table 2 provides the results from the regressions. I used anordered logistic lo��gis��tic? also lo��gis��ti��caladj.1. Of or relating to symbolic logic.2. Of or relating to logistics.[Medieval Latin logisticus, of calculation procedure to account for the four category dependentvariables (answers for most questions ranged from strongly disagree,disagree, agree, and strongly agree). The models in Table 2 comparestudents in each of the private sectors to the local public schoolpopulation. It also compares students in public schools of choice to thelocal public school population. Public schools of choice includefamilies whose children attend a magnet or charter school, or who chosetheir public schools under a school district or state-wide openenrollment plan. The private school students are divided into threegroups: private nonreligious school, Catholic school, and non-Catholicreligious school. After accounting for demographic and contextual factors, theanalysis in Model 1 (Table 2) shows that non-Catholic religious schoolscompared to local public schools remain positively related to enjoyingschool, though this is just short of the usual standards of statisticalsignificance (the .05 alpha cutoff). With the stringent set of controlsin the models, and the relatively small sample size for the privateschool categories, it seems reasonable to discuss coefficients that aresignificant at the .1 alpha level. The private nonreligious studentsshow a similar positive relationship to enjoying school compared to thelocal public school population. What is more interesting is that thestudents whose family chose their public school are significantly morelikely to report high levels of enjoyment of school. The results seem toshow that, after accounting for lower socioeconomic status of children,the public school chooser families are experiencing school much morepositively than the local public school families. Some of this enjoymentmay be rubbing rubbing,v creating friction and heat by drawing the hands across the body at varying speeds, rhythms, and depths. Benefits include muscle elongation, tension release, and increased flexibility. off from parents who are more committed to a school thatthey actively chose. But it seems unlikely that this explains the entireeffect. Areasonable interpretation of this finding is that the publicschools of choice are creating a school environment that may haveadvantages for civic education socialization. The coefficients for Model 1 reveal that the strongest effect onenjoying school is for the nonreligious private schoolers (.34), withthe non-Catholic religious schoolers close behind (.28). The publicschool of choice students are quite strongly related to enjoying school;the estimate shows that we would expect on average a .19 increase inenjoyment of school for public school choosers, net of the othervariables in the model. While this effect is substantially smaller thanthe effects for religious schools, it is a fairly strong effect sincethe dependent variable is only a 4-point scale. For the privateschooling categories, the effect is similar in size to the effect onenjoyment of a parent expecting the child to attend a 4-year collegeafter high school. The Catholic school effect is similar in size to thepublic school of choice sector, but it does not reach the usualstandards of statistical significance. Note, however, that the estimateof the effect of Catholic school attendance on school enjoyment isaffected more than the other school sectors by a student'ssatisfaction about the level of their parent's involvement at theirschool. If those variables are dropped from the model (not shown), theCatholic school estimate rises to .24 and is significant at the .1 alphalevel. "IN MY SCHOOL, MOST STUDENTS AND TEACHERS RESPECT EACHOTHER" The percentage of students in each school sector that report mutualrespect between teachers and students differ rather markedly (Figure 2).About 31% of religious school students (Catholic and non-Catholicreligious) strongly agree that students and teachers respect oneanother. The public school percentage is about half that of thereligious schools. From these raw percentages, there is reason to beconcerned about the kind of civic socialization received by most localpublic school students. Even if some of these school sector differencesare due to demographic variation across school sector, these low numbersfor local public schools are troubling; only 15% of public schoolstudents experience a schooling environment in which it is very clearthat students and teachers respect each other. This important componentof relational trust is not strongly felt by most public school students. Despite that, we also consider whether these school sectordifferences in mutual respect are significant even after accounting fordemographic and other forms of variation across school sector (see Model2). After controlling for relevant factors, students in all schoolsectors are significantly more likely to agree that teachers andstudents respect each other than are students in local public schools.The strength of the effect for private school students is striking.Catholic and nonreligious private school students report almost onepoint higher on average on this 4-point scale, even after controllingfor a large set of other factors that might affect student reports.Though public school of choice students are significantly more likely toreport mutual respect than local public school students, the estimate(.29) is about a third of the size of the private school effect.Non-Catholic religious schools are not quite as strong as the otherprivate school sectors (.75), but the effect for these religious schoolsis more than double the size of the effect for public school students ofchoice. When it comes to experiencing a school community of mutual trust,local public school students are at a decided disadvantage. This doesnot bode bode?1?v. bod��ed, bod��ing, bodesv.tr.1. To be an omen of: heavy seas that boded trouble for small craft.2. well for the socialization experiences that would contribute toan effective civic education in public schools. By not experiencing aninstitution marked by mutual respect, public school students may belearning the wrong things Wrong Things is a collaborative short-fiction collection by Poppy Z. Brite and Caitlin R. Kiernan, released by Subterranean Press in 2001. This short hardback includes one solo story by each author and one story written in collaboration, as well as an afterword by Kiernan. about civic institutions and normativebehavior within them. "IN MY SCHOOL, THE OPINIONS OF THE STUDENTS ARE LISTENEDTO." Another indicator of the type of hidden civic education curriculumwithin schools is whether students feel a sense of respect from teachersand administrators at the school. Again, this is likely to reflect theextent that the school functions as an effective community. And onemight also expect that non-Catholic religious schools, which arepredominately conservative Protestant schools, would not excel on thisscore. These religious schools have been characterized as authoritarian(Peshkin, 1986) rather than participatory, which may also provide ahidden civic curriculum that would be detrimental to orientations tocivic participation. What is surprising in the bivariate bi��var��i��ate?adj.Mathematics Having two variables: bivariate binomial distribution.Adj. 1. results (Figure 3) is that thenon-Catholic religious schools have the highest percentage of studentsstrongly agreeing the student opinions are listened to (25%). Catholicand nonreligious private schools are not far behind (22%), though localpublic schools are again about half as likely as the religious schoolsto strongly agree that students have a voice at school (12.9%). Whateverthe reason for these differences, the findings raise concern thatstudents experience local public schools as alienating rather thanparticipatory environments. The regression analysis, which accounts for other relevant factorsthat may influence student responses, confirms that all the schoolsectors are significantly stronger on student input than local publicschools (Model 3). The coefficients for the models show that thenon-Catholic religious schools remain the highest on this measure, netof the other variables in the model. On this 4-point scale, the privatenonreligious school students have on average a .58 boost in their senseof being listened to, compared to local public school students and netof the other variables in the model. The Catholic schools (.41) and thenon-Catholic religious school (.46) are not far behind. The coefficient coefficient/co��ef��fi��cient/ (ko?ah-fish��int)1. an expression of the change or effect produced by variation in certain factors, or of the ratio between two different quantities.2. for each of the religious school sectors is more than twice the size ofthe coefficient for the public school choice sector. (A test of thestatistical significance of these differences reveals that privatenonreligious school students are significantly different from publicschool students of choice at the .1 level, and Catholic school studentsare nearly so.) At least in creating a participatory environment, whichprovides an important civic education in itself, all private schools aredoing much better than local public schools. "MY TEACHER MAINTAINS GOOD DISCIPLINE IN THE CLASSROOM" The raw percentages on discipline in the classroom (Figure 4) showthat the religious schools (about 35% strongly agree) are well above thepublic school sectors (20% strongly agree) on this score, though theprivate non-religious sector is doing nearly as well in perceptions ofteacher discipline (32% strongly agree). Contrary to the above findings,the public schools of choice are not significantly different from thelocal public school (see Model 4). In the regression models, with theextensive set of controls, all of the private schools are significantlymore positive on teacher discipline than local public schools. Thepublic schools of choice are not significantly different from the localpublic schools. In this case, we do not find substantial differences by type ofprivate school, which seems to indicate that there is no special boostto functional community provided by adding a religious dimension toprivate schools. The functional community seems just as strong inprivate nonreligious schools. After the controls are accounted for,being a private nonreligious school student increases the likelihood ofreporting good teacher discipline by about .6 (on a 4-point scale).Religious school students are roughly similar in the size of the effect. "THE PRINCIPAL ... MAINTAINS GOOD DISCIPLINE IN MYSCHOOL." The percentages in Figure 5 show that almost half of non-Catholicreligious schools strongly agree that their principal maintains gooddiscipline. The Catholic schools are nearly as high on this measure, butthe local public schools are much lower: only about 30% of local publicschool students strongly agree that the principal maintains gooddiscipline. Again, public schools of choice are not distinctive on thismeasure, and the private nonreligious schools (36% strongly agree) fallin between the local public schools and the religious schools. Theregression analysis (Model 5) reveals that only the Catholic and otherreligious schools are significantly different from the local publicschools. Even with the controls, the religious schools show higherlevels of principal discipline. Being in a religious school increasesthe average level of principal discipline by about .8 on a 4-pointscale. Again, this is a large effect. The private nonreligious schooleffect is not significant at the .05 level, but it does fall below the.1 alpha level. Still, the private religious school effect is about halfof the size of the religious school effect. On this measure, the religious schools are distinctive, whichindicates that religious school students experience school to a greaterextent as a functional community. Since religious schools are embeddedin a larger religious community, they are likely to be more effective inuniting family and school, which provides legitimacy for authorities inthe school. The normative environment of the school and religiouscommunity grounds the authority of school leaders in religiouscommunities. Building on this functional community, the hidden civiccurriculum at religious schools appears more positive than atneighborhood public schools. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS Taking the findings together, all private school sectors tend to bedistinctive on these measures of school climate. One measure shows adistinctive religious school effect: that of the discipline maintainedby the principal. This effect is consistent with the claim thatreligious schools operate within a stronger functional community, andthis effect of communal organization may be beneficial for the hiddencivic curriculum. Beyond that, the private nonreligious school studentstend to show as much or more of the organizational characteristics thatwould contribute to an effective civic education. Perhaps this confirmsthe view that many private nonreligious schools, such as the privateschool focused on character-building in Brint's (Brint et al.,2001) analysis, have a similarly strong sense of normative mission andcollective identity compared to religious schools. Interestingly, publicschools of choice appear to have the organizational strengths that wouldcontribute to a good civic education. But the strength of these effectsare substantially less than the private schools on nearly every measure,and the difference between public schools of choice and local publicschools disappears altogether in regard to principal discipline. This analysis is not complete, however, since we do not know fromthese results whether civic socialization in private schools affectsorientations toward and actions within civic institutions later in life.The results here only show that private school students experience theirschools in a way that offers the opportunity for building collectiveidentities and practicing sociability within their schools. Findingevidence that connects school experience and adult orientations topublic life is left for future research. In addition, it is stillpossible that the move to private education per se orients students toprivate meanstoward individual goals, while participation in public schools setsan example of coming together from all walks of life without regard toreligious or economic differences. Private schooling has no connectionto public purposes, in this view. The stronger hidden civic curriculumin private schools may be overwhelmed o��ver��whelm?tr.v. o��ver��whelmed, o��ver��whelm��ing, o��ver��whelms1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline.2. a. by a privatized conception ofeducation (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987) that is reinforced within privateschools. This possibility, too, deserves further research. The resultsso far, however, which show some fairly low levels of functionalcommunity and relational trust within local public schools, wouldindicate that the more likely scenario is that the "public"nature of the public school choice is likely to be overwhelmed by theweak hidden civic curriculum in local public schools. CONCLUSION Civic education in schools is not only about what is learned incivics class, but also what students learn through their schoolexperience about what to expect and how to behave in institutions beyondthe family. Dreeben (1968) has shown us that forming citizens is notsimply about what is taught in the classroom, but what is learned in thehidden curriculum, Extending that model, this article has argued thatthe hidden civic curriculum is not limited to the organizationalcharacteristics that instill the value orientations of individualism,universalism, and achievement. While these are important aspects of acivic education in school, and likely influence the capacity of citizensto participate well in the polity later in life, school experiences forchildren include the extent and nature of collective identity formationat the school. An alienating school environment, one without a strongfunctional community, teaches civic lessons as well. In an alienatingschool environment, all the training in civics class about participatingin democratic life for the common good may be contradicted by astudent's school experience. Perhaps cynicism and disengagement disengagement/dis��en��gage��ment/ (dis?en-gaj��ment) emergence of the fetus from the vaginal canal. dis��en��gage��mentn. from civic participation of the younger generation is not due to thelack of civics training in class, but to the experience of alienationand isolation in school organizations. Whether students participate outof self-interest later in life, or whether they drop out of public lifealtogether, may depend in part on how they experienced schooling intheir formative formative/for��ma��tive/ (for��mah-tiv) concerned in the origination and development of an organism, part, or tissue. years. Schools are of course not the sole or perhaps even the mostimportant site for this form of socialization. Certainly religiousinstitutions and perhaps even bowling leagues could play a role here.But I would expect that schools are not insignificant factors either.For most students, schools are their induction into public institutions,and for that reason may have a disproportionate dis��pro��por��tion��ate?adj.Out of proportion, as in size, shape, or amount.dispro��por influence on youthexpectations for life outside the family. And, simply in terms of timecommitment, it is clearly the most significant institution in achild's life beyond the family. One could argue that religiousinstitutions in the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. provide a strong competitor on thisscore to public schools, but this would not apply to all children, norwould most consider churches as "public." What a studentlearns in school is likely to have significant long-term effects on thenature and extent of their participation in public life. To know whether we are getting the civic education we hope forwould therefore require asking questions such as: Are studentsparticipating in the building of a collective identity within theschool? Are they learning that at times it is necessary, important, andpersonally satisfying to contribute to the common good? We would want toask not only whether students are in a school that represents thediversity of a geographically-bounded community, but whether the schoolis organized in a way that contributes to developing sociability and tolearning to move beyond self-interest. In general, we would want to knowwhether the organizational culture of schools is teaching the importanceof participating in the discipline (social control) of a group thattranscends the self, through which the self is given purpose anddirection. The experience of this type of organization is an important way inwhich schools can provide an education for civic life. On this score,religious schools, and private nonreligious schools, seem to have anadvantage in civic education. The communal form of organization atreligious schools provides a setting in which collective identity andrelational trust allows sociability and other civic orientations to growand flourish. It is troubling that local public schools are not able to provideas strong a hidden civic curriculum as private schools. Even if we agreethat schools must be "public" in the traditional sense for apositive civic education to take place, our evidence raises the questionof whether civic education in public schools will be contradicted by thehidden civic curriculum that students are currently experiencing in thelocal public schools. Though structurally we haven't taken the"public" out of public schools, students seem to be learningthe wrong things about public life. Given the organization of publicschools that is apparently necessary to incorporate diversity andspecial interests in an orderly, performance-oriented bureaucracy, itseems difficult for the hidden civic curriculum to change in publicschools. The structural advantage of the public schools is overcome bythe hidden civic curriculum. There is no question that public schools could improve on thisscore. But that improvement may be limited by social changes that havealtered the sources of functional communities and disrupted the relationof geographic communities, families, and schools. One possible way toimprove civic socialization in this social context is to expand publicschool choice. Of course there are myriad issues to consider indecisions to expand public school choice (Cookson, 1994; Schneider,Teske, & Marschall, 2000; Wells, 1993; Wolfe, 2003). In terms ofcivic socialization, however, our findings suggest that public schoolsof choice do better than neighborhood public schools. I would speculatethat public schools of choice are better able to foster collectiveidentity and a functional community among parents, students, andadministrators. While we do not have direct evidence on this, we do knowthat parents who chose a public school for their child are moresatisfied with the teachers, administrators and order and discipline attheir schools than are parents in the assigned public school (Bielick& Chapman, 2003). Perhaps this is indicative of a relatively higherlevel of functional community and relational trust at public schools ofchoice. We must also note that parents of public schools of choice arenot more likely to be involved in their child's school (Bielick& Chapman, 2003). Future research is called for to definitivelyexplain the school climate at public schools of choice. Further, thefindings in this article seem to imply that improving civic educationfor public school students will require incorporating the best practicesin the hidden civic education of private and religious schools. To theextent that public schools find ways to foster collective identity and astrong normative climate in schools, the hidden civic curriculum willcomplement renewed efforts to include more and better explicit civiceducation in public schools. This article was presented as a paper at the Sixth AnnualConference of the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO CREO Committee on Recently Extinct OrganismsCREO Commercial Real Estate Organization (Chicago)CREO Career Reenlistment ObjectiveCREO Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity (Social Security Administration))at the University of Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam]is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame on November 9-10, 2002. A collection ofconference papers is scheduled to be published in an upcoming book fromNotre Dame Press. REFERENCES Arons, S. (1983). Compelling belief: The culture of Americanschooling. 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God's schools: Choice and compromise inAmerican society. New Brunswick New Brunswick, province, CanadaNew Brunswick,province (2001 pop. 729,498), 28,345 sq mi (73,433 sq km), including 519 sq mi (1,345 sq km) of water surface, E Canada. , NJ: Rutgers University Press Rutgers University Press is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in Piscataway, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University. The press was founded in 1936, and since that time has grown in size and in the scope of its publishing program. . Waller, W. (1965). The sociology of teaching. New York: J. Wiley. Wells, A. S. (1993). Time to choose: America at the crossroads ofschool choice policy. New York: Hill and Wang. Willis, P. E. (1981). Learning to labor: How working class kids getworking class jobs. New York: Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is an academic press based in New York City and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan (2004-present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, . Wolfe, A. (2003). School choice: The moral debate. Princeton, NJ:Princeton University Press. DAVID David, in the BibleDavid,d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. SIKKINK University of Notre Dame David Sikkink is an associate professor of sociology at theUniversity of Notre Dame. Correspondence concerning this article shouldbe addressed to Dr. David Sikkink, Department of Sociology Noun 1. department of sociology - the academic department responsible for teaching and research in sociologysociology departmentacademic department - a division of a school that is responsible for a given subject , Universityof Notre Dame, 1018 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556.Table 1: Descriptive Data from the 1996 NationalHousehold Education Survey, Youth File Mean/ Standard Proportion Deviation NLocal public school 0.768 6,112Public school--chosen 0.128 1,018Private non-religious school 0.020 199Catholic school 0.050 424Non-Catholic religious school 0.021 187Age 14.348Gender (1=female) 0.488Interviewed in Spanish 0.019Looked for work in last school 0.148 year (0-1)Hours spent working during school 5.206 0.121 yearStudent grades (reported by parent) 3.989 0.013 1 = mostly Fs; 5 = mostly A'sDiscussed future courses or plans 0.326 after high school 1 = Not discussed with parent in last monthParticipated in activities outside of 0.630 school (0-1) Organized sports, church youth group, music, etc.School ethnicity (reported by parent) 2.250 0.012 1=less than 25% same as R; 3=greater than 75% same as RSize of student body (reported by parent)300 to 599 0.299600 to 999 0.247More than 1,000 0.336Residence (zip code)South 0.344Midwest 0.240West 0.212Urban, outside urbanized area 0.146Rural 0.249Parent and Family CharacteristicsEducation (highest of parents) 2.976 0.017 1 = less than high school graduate 5 = more than college graduateHousehold income 7.031 0.049 1 = $5,000 or less; 11 = greater than $75,000Rent home 0.327Not receive food stamps 0.847Traditional, two-parent family 0.690Mother employment statusNo mother in household 0.037Part-time work (less than 35 hours 0.197 a week)Looking for work 0.034Not in labor force 0.224Parent expects child to graduate from 0.833 collegeCivic participation index (1-9) 4.147 0.026Religious service attendance 3.693 0.021 1 = never; 5 = nearly every weekTable 2: Ordered Logistic Regression of School Climate on SchoolSector, 1996 National Household Education Survey, U.S. 6th-12thGrade Sample (N=7,940) Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Enjoy Teachers & Student school students opinions are respect each listened to otherSchool SectorPublic school--chosen 0.195 * 0.291 ** 0.182 *Private nonreligious school 0.341 (+) 0.905 ** 0.568 **Catholic school 0.209 0.910 ** 0.415 **Non-Catholic religious 0.284 (+) 0.751 ** 0.461 * schoolChild CharacteristicsFemale 0.199 ** -0.085 0.007Black non-Hispanic 0.134 0.417 0.002Latino/Latina 0.374 0.649 * 0.606 *Other race/ethnicity 0.645 (+) 1.031 ** 0.224Discuss future plans with 0.482 ** 0.107 (+) 0.182 ** familyGood grades in school 0.342 ** 0.184 ** 0.133 **Participated in out-of-school 0.263 ** 0.067 0.048 activityFamily CharacteristicsParent education -0.015 -0.020 -0.042Household income -0.030 (+) 0.016 0.017Not own home 0.033 -0.005 0.142 (+)Received food stamps in last 0.196 -0.212 (+) -0.040 yearTraditional family 0.052 -0.036 0.136Expect child to grad. from 0.257 ** 0.022 0.028 collegeIndex of civic participation -0.009 -0.038 * -0.028Religious service attendance 0.009 0.014 0.050 *Student view of parent inv. in schoolLess than would like -0.276 *More than would like -0.204 * Model 4 Model 5 Teacher Principal disciplines disciplines effectively effectivelySchool SectorPublic school--chosen 0.121 0.090Private nonreligious school 0.616 ** 0.391 (+)Catholic school 0.594 ** 0.772 **Non-Catholic religious 0.547 * 0.833 ** schoolChild CharacteristicsFemale -0.131 * -0.174 **Black non-Hispanic 0.415 0.415Latino/Latina 0.736 ** 0.822 **Other race/ethnicity 0.723 * 0.285Discuss future plans with 0.158 * 0.283 ** familyGood grades in school 0.176 ** 0.190 **Participated in out-of-school 0.036 0.009 activityFamily CharacteristicsParent education -0.028 -0.010Household income -0.009 0.015Not own home 0.083 0.175 *Received food stamps in last -0.027 -0.169 yearTraditional family 0.144 (+) 0.011Expect child to grad. from -0.104 0.121 collegeIndex of civic participation 0.003 -0.022Religious service attendance 0.048 * 0.041 (+)Student view of parent inv. in schoolLess than would likeMore than would likeNOTES:(+) significant at 10%; * significant at 5%; ** significant at 1%Models also control for age of child, school grade of child, hourschild worked per week (logged), child looked for job in last year,interview conducted in Spanish, mother employment status (includingmother looking for work), no mother in the home, school size, percentsame race/ethnicity in school as child, interaction of percent samerace in school and childis race/ethnicity, region, urban/ruralresidence, non-Hispanic black population in zip code of respondent,racial pluralism of zip code, families in poverty in zip code.Figure 1: Students Enjoy School Agree or Strongly AgreeLocal public 79.5%Public--chosen 84.6%Private non-religious 85.3%Catholic 85.2%Other religious 88.8%Source: 1996 National Household Education SurveyNote: Table made from bar graph.Figure 2: Teachers and Students Respect Each Other Strongly AgreeLocal public 15.7%Public--chosen 17.6%Private non-religious 28.2%Catholic 31.2%Other religious 30.7%Source: 1996 National Household Education SurveyNote: Table made from bar graph.Figure 3: Student Opinions are Listened To Strongly AgreeLocal public 12.9%Public--chosen 14.8%Private non-religious 21.8%Catholic 21.8%Other religious 25.0%Source: 1996 National Household Education SurveyNote: Table made from bar graph.Figure 4: Teacher Maintains Classroom Discipline Strongly AgreeLocal public 20.1%Public--chosen 21.8%Private non-religious 32.3%Catholic 34.2%Other religious 35.5%Source: 1996 National Household Education SurveyNote: Table made from bar graph.Figure 5: Principal Maintains Good Discipline Strongly AgreeLocal public 29.4%Public--chosen 30.0%Private non-religious 36.1%Catholic 46.7%Other religious 49.3%Source: 1996 National Household Education SurveyNote: Table made from bar graph.