Building Civic Dispositions
 School Administrator, September 2020

Among educators, there is a growing acknowledgment of the need to develop children’s social-emotional skills — yet integrating these skills into instruction has been elusive.

The One Community, One Nation framework places a set of civic dispositions at the heart of the program, with each unit exploring and encouraging the development of different dispositions. These civic dispositions align with the social-emotional skills (the five core competencies) in the CASEL framework.

For example, the civic disposition of individual responsibility aligns with responsible decision making, open-mindedness with self-awareness, negotiation and compromise with relationship skills, and promotion of the common good with social awareness. Each is the civic embodiment of the core social skill as it plays out in the civic arena. This intentional alignment helps to equip students with the social-emotional tools to enter civic life with a sense of optimism and confidence in their ability to make change.

The accompanying chart articulates the civic dispositions covered by One Community, One Nation. The right-hand column frames each disposition in language more appropriate to elementary students. Appreciation is extended to Paul Graseck, who developed this chart during his time as director of cultural studies in the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky.

— SHELDON BERMAN