Civic education in research universities: leaders or followers?

Purpose - Research-intensive universities have special challenges in providing their students with civic education, particularly education that is rooted in the curriculum. Their efforts are important to the overall effort to promote education "for the common good" at colleges and universities because of their stature within the higher education community. This paper aims to address the particular needs and challenges of research universities in fostering civic education and strengthening their leadership contributions. Design/methodology/approach - This article provides a snapshot of how 15 American research university campuses, which are part of a "learning community", approach their goal of educating their students to promote the common good. Based on survey self-reports conducted in the spring of 2009, it documents their civic education work. Findings - The survey confirms, while research universities are being creative and assertive in expanding their civic education work, there is ample room to extend and improve their efforts, and it frames an agenda for continued improvement. All surveyed campuses are committed to civic education and provide domestic and international engagement experience to undergraduates. Most provide curricular engagement experiences. In-depth opportunities for a select group of students are common, university-wide opportunities are not. Many want to improve the integration of curricular and extra-curricular engagement. Research limitations/implications - The research is based on self-reports of a small sample. Practical implications - These campuses face two major challenges to fostering civic education: generating greater faculty buy-in, and overcoming the difficulties of program development at large decentralized institutions. Opportunities for program improvement include: better measurement of outcomes, more use of theory, and more student involvement in institutional governance. Originality/value - These findings provide unique insight into the work of some of the most able practitioners of civic education at American research universities.