Student Research Projects

Teaching Citizens to Talk: Civic Education in a Deliberative Democracy

Student Name(s)	Melissa Hendricks
Faculty Mentor(s)	Dr. William Gibson
Department	Political Science

Abstract

Teaching Citizens to Talk attempts to answer the question of what type of civic education system would create and nurture a good citizen in the context of a deliberative democracy? In order to answer this question, this paper looks at the main institutions of deliberative democracy--deliberative polls and citizens' juries--and assesses their weaknesses. An assessment of these institutions leads to a definition of a good citizen in a deliberative democracy, as well as a civic education program that could strengthen the accountability of deliberative institutions.