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h i g h l i g h t s
Self-regarding individualism is a context in which teachers teach civic engagement.
Self-regarding individualism promotes individuals self-interests.
This individualism limits students preparation for civic engagement.
Experiences help teachers implement civic education programs.
Experiences represent the teachers effort in moving beyond this individualism.
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 16 November 2012
Received in revised form
26 March 2014
Accepted 1 April 2014
Available online 21 April 2014
Worldwide, a political, economic and cultural context stressing self-interest, which I describe as selfregarding individualism, restricts the commitment of governments, schools and people to the common good in civic life. In such a context, this study uses a narrative inquiry methodology to explore
through the narrative texts of two social studies teachers from the United States the way their experiences help them teach civic engagement beyond self-regarding individualism. These experiences are a
valuable teaching resource because they represent the teachers enduring effort to move beyond this
type of individualism.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Teachers experiences
Teaching civic engagement
Self-regarding individualism
Teachers practical knowledge
Narrative inquiry
1. Introduction
Worldwide, political, cultural and economic reforms primarily
promoting self-interest are diminishing the spaces for civic
engagement and community ties (Ham, 2000; Lerchner, 2002). This
brings to the forefront the need to strengthen the schools and
teachers mission to prepare their students civically (Gimeno
Sacristan, 2002). In the United States, this stress on self-interest
can be found in a context of self-regarding individualism that
partly characterizes the cultural, political and economic life of the
country. In education, this context inuences many civic programs
that tend to foster students individual interests rather than engage
them with the common good (Parker, 2003; Serow, 1991). In such a
context, teachers have the crucial challenge of improving their
students civic preparation, and in this respect, their experiences
* Tel.: 56 32 2624710.
E-mail address: ecavieres-cea@upla.cl.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.04.002
0742-051X/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
constitute a resource of utmost importance (Pace, 2008; TorneyPurta & Richardson, 2002). Using the narrative texts of two social
studies teachers from the US, this study explores how their experiences help them teach civic engagement beyond self-regarding
individualism.
According to Connelly and Clandinin (1990), through narrative
inquiry, researchers compose texts that collect and retell stories of
people who, by sharing them, relive their experiences envisioning
new ways to improve them. In education, these stories are important
given that teachers experiences are intrinsically intertwined with
their professional knowledge, forming the practical knowledge that
guides their teaching and allows them to accommodate their students cultural differences, choose appropriate teaching methods
and content and give purpose to their teaching (Connelly &
Clandinin, 1995; Craig, 2007; Elbaz, 1983; Xu & Connelly, 2010).
Consequently, teachers stories give insights into their practical
knowledge and invite teachers to relive their teaching experiences to
explore new possibilities of improving their students lives while
1
Individualism refers to a wide range of practices in American society (Bellah
et al., 1996; Lukes, 1973). Because some authors argue that depending on the
type of individualism it can strengthen or weaken peoples civic engagement (Held,
2006; Macpherson, 1977), I saw the need to consider this distinction. However, this
distinction does not provide a unied and exhaustive theoretical framework that
can help to depict a particular individualistic context restrictive of civic engagement
in society and schools. For this reason, I borrow from Mansbridge (1980), who
discusses the inuence of self (regarding) interests in political contexts, to build the
expression of self-regarding individualism. To describe this context, I do not follow
this authors framework extensively but rather bring together different discussions
about the limiting effects that a cultural, political and economic stress on selfinterest has on civic engagement.
(which can include ones own) and advocates for moving beyond
self-interest in public life through social cooperation that integrates
other-regarding interests without necessarily excluding legitimate
self-interests. Accordingly, I use the expression of teaching beyond
self-regarding individualism to suggest a form of teaching that encourages students to advance the common good by supporting the
needs of others along with their own interests through their civic
engagement.
2.1. Self-regarding individualism, governments and civic
participation
In this study, I identify self-regarding individualism as a cultural,
political and economic context that stresses the supremacy of free
individuals moved by their self (regarding) interests rather than
public concerns (Brown, 1993; Levine, 1981; Macpherson, 1962).
Historically, in the United States, this context of individualism has
stressed the importance of private property and market relations
(Macpherson, 1977). The concentration of private property in the
hands of a privileged (predominantly) white class has resulted in
the stratication of society across race and class lines and in the
emergence of social groups defending their own interests (Foner,
1998; Mills, 1997). In this sense, individual groups, even with
strong internal community ties, such as conservative or minority
groups, develop a group-based form of self-regarding individualism
by exclusively advancing their self-interests and not engaging with
other groups to pursue other-regarding interests and build a common good (Bobbio, 1987; Dewiel, 2000).
Following Mansbridge (1983, 1990), I connect this context of
self-regarding individualism with a model of democracy, predominant in the United States, that secures peoples self (regarding) interests in both the economic and political spheres. From an
economic standpoint, this individualistic context drives people to
satisfy their needs primarily through market exchange and economic freedom (Friedman, 2002; Hayek, 1960). At a political level,
particular groups and individual citizens compete to inuence
governments to represent and advance their interests, resembling a
marketplace in which commercial rms compete to attract consumers and increase their economic prot (Becker, 1976, Gilman,
2003; Harvey, 2005; Schumpeter, 1976). However, in such a
model, governments play a limited role in fostering social cooperation to pursue common interests and the collective common good
(Gould, 1990; Young, 2000).
This context of self-regarding individualism partly explains the
tendency of certain groups in the US to use active civic engagement
to pursue their self-interests rather than the common good (Levine,
2000; Rauch, 1994). However, due to the emphasis on economic
relationships that lead to a decrease in community ties and a
commitment to private/individual interests, this context seems to
have a stronger inuence on the decrease of civic engagement
(Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swindler, & Tipton, 1996; Putnam, 2000).
According to the National Conference on Citizenship (2006),
people are less well informed about public affairs; and our trust of
and connection to key institutions have been largely on the decline
(p. 5). Participation in voluntary associations and community projects has decreased, especially among the white population (The
National Conference on Citizenship, 2008). Among other factors,
self-regarding individualism explains the preference among the
population for taking care of their own interests while political
institutions take care of the public affairs (Hibbing and TheissMorse, 2001; Macedo, 2005). This individualistic context may also
explain the resistance in certain groups of the population to
deliberating about political issues due to a lack of interest in
engaging with opinions that are different from theirs (Hibbing &
Theiss-Morse, 2002; Mutz, 2006).
experience with diversity through traveling and working a landscaping job with an undocumented immigrant who swam across
the Rio Grande, from the Mexican side to the United States. From
these experiences, he embraced the teaching goal of getting kids to
experience different groups of people and getting educated by
other cultures. Although, Project Citizen asks teachers not to inuence the students choice of problem, Mr. Washington gives his
opinion to encourage students to choose issues affecting a large
group of people and not only their town. Doing so helps students to
acknowledge other peoples needs or other-regarding interests and
focus on the common good.
4.3. Teaching beyond self-regarding individualism through big
ideas
Teaching through big ideas is an essential component of Mr.
Washingtons teaching experience: with the time constraints you
have, if we can get the big ideas in, thats what is important, and
avoid going off on these specic things. He learned this from a
history teacher in high school: he was really good at getting you to
understand the big picture about what a government does, some of
the things that drive the economy, and how it is all related.
Teaching through big ideas is also an important aspect of his
teaching beyond self-regarding individualism because it helps his
student to engage with large problems. In most cases, he teaches
these big ideas in the social studies class and then reintroduces
them during Project Citizen to motivate or explain an activity to the
whole class or to individual students. According to Mr. Washington,
these interrelated ideas refer to aspects of civic engagement that
are essential to overcome a context of self-regarding individualism in
which a predominant economic rationality restricts the value of the
government and people are less informed about public issues and
show low levels of civic participation.
Mr. Washingtons rst big idea is that governments are essential
for the well-being of the country. At the beginning of Project Citizen, he talks about the Gettysburg Address, in which President
Lincoln calls the American government the government of the
people, by the people, for the people. Nonetheless, his students do
not believe that the government can make peoples lives better. He
shares some of these concerns: Its scary when companies have
lobbyists that can pay to get legislation passed that benets them.
He is also aware that the government does not always work
because of its structure. He had a similar experience in his high
school student council: It wasnt really structured so it was inefcient. There were people making all the decisions and I was just
standing there. However, reading and learning about US history
throughout college made him more condent that governments
improve and benet the country. We have a government with
checks and balances because of what didnt work before, he explains, thats really what democracy is; the best qualied person is
in charge of trying to x things and hopefully does a good job.
With Project Citizen, his students have started valuing the role of
governments: Kids were receiving emails and letters from state
representatives and having phone interviews with a state senator.
They realized they can put a face to government.
Another of Mr. Washingtons big ideas is that living in a democracy requires being well-informed. In his classes, he insists on
this point because his students do not always show interest in
following the news: I saw a bumper sticker say that if you are not
outraged youre not paying attention. You just have to pay attention, where is my money used? In a war I dont agree with, for
bailing out auto industries or banks? Mr. Washingtons interest in
the news comes from his childhood experience. I was an only child
and didnt have a lot to do. So if I had a spare hour, I would try to
nd something to read about the different things that were going
rst day, you guys worked together as well as any other group Ive
ever had. You really coordinated pretty good.
Thomas Paines adage that it is the necessarily evil. Ms. Paine remembers watching the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina and
thinking, How could our national government be screwing up so
much and allowing this continued poverty to get deeper. She also
worries about the economys inuence in the country: It makes me
understand even more the necessity of regulation and how easy it
is for government leaders to partner with big businesses. However,
her participation in the Center for Civic Education to study the
Constitution and the philosophical ideas underpinning the US
government made her optimistic about governments. Meeting
politicians and community organizers has also been helpful:
Theyve entered the political realm because they wanted to make a
difference. This has been encouraging to me.
Accordingly, Ms. Paine motivates her students to work in favor
of other groups and participate in government. Her own experience
with her community moved her to serve different groups. This was
a lesson she learned from her family: One thing my family taught
me is empathy and kindness. They helped to instill in me the need
to make this a better world. In college, she started working on
different community initiatives, such as food drives. The nice thing
about faith-based institutions is that there are initiatives designed
to help make the community better, she comments. She also
tutored students living in a homeless shelter and worked with
teenagers from troubled communities: These service experiences
were meaningful because they expose you to people whose lives
could be better with your help. Years later, Ms. Paine also became
involved with political groups and participated in canvassing for
candidates, experiences that taught her the importance of civic
participation to help those in need.
During Project Citizen, Ms. Paine shares some of these experiences with her students so they can get to know other groups
working for the common good: I remember drawing [on] my
experience doing some canvassing for the Sierra Club which is an
environmental group. I talked with the students about what these
agencies do and why they would be good points of contact. She
also encourages students to meet their Aldermen and know their
district and their local government: Some students attended a
town hall meeting to make contact with some department
agencies. I have seen evidence that students now talk more about
current events happening in the city. Their contact with the local
government has also helped students see that their abandoned
building project could positively affect other groups besides theirs:
The city wants to rebuild it. They are thinking in community gardens, they are thinking in housing. It has just been interesting to see
that this problem is a city issue that the Mayor has mentioned.
An important event she organizes for Project Citizen is the
school showcase in which students present their projects to a panel
formed by community organizers and people from the local government to practice for the presentation at the State Capitol. The
panel members also share their experiences working with the
community with the students. The students parents offer lunch
with traditional Hmong food, and Ms. Paine insists that students sit
with the guests to continue making connections. Ms. Paines
larger goal is to get her students involved with the community as
citizens. With all of these activities, students can really start seeing
the big picture of how wide the realm of their involvement is.
expected to lead or plan activities. Overall, there are only few references to actions carried out by these teachers in their narratives.
Most of their contributions were through directions they gave
students to help them organize their work. Because these teachers
have implemented Project Citizen several times, their professional
experience enables them to know the program thoroughly and
adapt it to their students needs. Consequently, they are successful
in guiding students through the program such that the students can
make decisions, gather information about the problem they are
researching, contact people who can help them and prepare their
presentation for the Capitol Showcase. In some specic situations,
personal experiences serve as examples and suggestions so that
students can improve their work.
Secondly, these teachers experiences also help motivate and give
purpose to the activities the students carry out. Most of these motivations are not necessarily endorsed by Project Citizen or by the
schools in which these teachers work but are rather part of their
beliefs, which are embedded in their own experiences. These beliefs relate to the understanding of democracy and civic engagement that these teachers want their students to gain through
Project Citizen. For instance, Mr. Washingtons experience studying
and reading about history has inuenced him to focus on the
substantial aspects of democracy: the big ideas. Democracies e
and governments e need to be improved to make society better. His
optimistic view of American history, reinforced by his professional
accomplishments, allows him to motivate his students to use
Project Citizen to become informed about the needs of other groups
in the country and to trust and participate in government to solve
these problems. Ms. Paines experience with the Center for Civic
Education and her experience working in community projects have
led her to support a democracy that takes care of those groups
requiring special support. Accordingly, she encourages students to
use Project Citizen to overcome their obstacles and difculties and
start collaborating with the government to solve those public
problems that harm the community.
6.2. Self-regarding individualism: experiences and context
Based on the teachers stories, self-regarding individualism surfaces as a context in which they teach for civic engagement.
Accordingly, the teachers couch their understandings of democracy
within the frame given by the Constitution and stress the importance of citizens individual responsibility for making governments
fulll their role in a democracy. From this perspective, when these
teachers criticize political and economic groups taking advantage
of the political system for their own wellbeing, they are not critical
of individualism per se but of a particular context of individualism
that I have identied in this study as self-regarding individualism or
group-based self-regarding individualism. In this context selfinterests are stressed, restricting the commitment of the governments, schools and people to the common good in civic life, which
should include other-regarding interests.
Mr. Washington makes a connection to this context of individualism when describing the background in which his students
grow: their little bubble of the world, disconnected from the
concerns of other groups in society. In Ms. Paines case, she admires
her students culture because it differs from a culture in which
groups only care about their individual rights, but she also worries
that her students act as an individual group centered on itself. This
context is not foreign to these teachers own backgrounds, as their
backgrounds are similar in some ways to their students. While the
homogeneous background of his students resembles Mr. Washingtons own background, the community-based culture of her
students has some commonalities with Ms. Paines own Christian
culture. In this sense, having a common experience with their
students helps these teachers put their teaching in context, underlining the challenges students must face to engage civically in a
context of self-regarding individualism.
6.3. Teaching, experiences and moving beyond self-regarding
individualism
Therefore, a crucial feature in these stories is that they contain
the teachers own experiences in moving beyond a context of selfregarding individualism that stresses self-interests, restricting the
commitment of governments, schools and people to the common
good in civic life. Accordingly, coming from relatively homogeneous
backgrounds, both teachers have endeavored to engage and
interact with cultural groups different from their own. The initial
experiences that led them to question the importance of government have been replaced by other experiences that enabled them
to trust the political system and collaborate with it for the public
benet. Above all, developing their teaching careers in school
contexts with reduced time and resources for civic education could
have been discouraging. Instead, it moved them to build their
teaching identities around the goal of engaging students civically in
favor of a common good that includes other-regarding interests.
Having this experience of moving beyond this context, they can
relate to their students and guide them in their civic development.
Thus, the narratives in this study show that these teachers have
experience using those teaching practices that I previously
described as teaching beyond self-regarding individualism, such as
accommodating the curriculum material, opening the classroom to
meaningful discussion and implementing community projects.
However, more importantly, these narratives show that experiences are a valuable resource because they help these teachers use
these practices to guide students beyond a context of self-regarding
individualism, as they represent the teachers enduring efforts to
move beyond this form of individualism. Just as Mr. Washington
has made an effort to learn more about other cultural groups, he
also tries to move students to choose problems that affect other
people besides themselves. Just as Ms. Paine came to be involved
with groups outside of her community of belonging, in her
implementation of Project Citizen, she tries to get her students to
engage with other people working in the local government to work
for the common good. From this perspective, teaching civic
engagement is a crucial experience through which these teachers,
along with their students, continue to move beyond self-regarding
individualism.
7. Conclusion
The narrative inquiry conducted with two social studies teachers explored how their experiences help them teach civic engagement beyond self-regarding individualism. As noted in other studies
on teachers practical knowledge (Elbaz, 1983; Xu & Connelly,
2010), the experiences presented inform the ways these teachers
give directions and suggestions, motivate and give purpose to the
activities and accommodate their students. Specically, the experiences help them implement a civic program acknowledging the
difculties their students have to face to engage civically. From this
perspective, this article contributes to the studies in the eld of
civic education that tend to pay less attention to the teachers
practical knowledge sustained in their own experiences and how
these experiences represent a signicant pedagogic resource. It
might even be the case that in particular restraining contexts,
sharing their experiences can actually constitute the teachers
greatest pedagogic tool to encourage their students civic engagement. Therefore, this article also suggests the importance of
including more narrative inquiry approaches into this area of study.
10
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