Civic Learning and Engagement: A Review of the Literature on Civic Learning, Assessment, and Instruments Robert D. Reason & Kevin Hemer

This literature review was commissioned by the Civic Learning Task Force, a partnership between the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). We believe the findings will be useful to a range of constituencies – academic and student affairs administrators, faculty, higher education researchers, and graduate students among them. This review is concerned primarily with research related to tools for assessing civic learning. In the introduction we identify definitions for civic engagement and civic learning, two terms that are often used but not uniformly understood. Employing the established definitions, we divide research into four domains: civic knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors. We proceed to examine each domain focusing on published research using civic outcomes assessment instruments. We then discuss methodology and highlight findings that identify differences between groups based on identity. Finally, we identify gaps in the current research and make recommendations for future research.