Civic Education during a Democratic Crisis, with Walter Parker (University of Washington, Seattle)

How should educators prepare youth for democratic participation at a moment when democracy itself seems so fragile? For ESD's third anniversary episode, Walter Parker, professor emeritus at the University of Washington - Seattle, explores the answer to this question by sharing ideas from his new book,  Education for Liberal Democracy: Using Classroom Discussion to Build Knowledge and Voice. Walter Parker is one of the most influential social studies education scholars of our time. In his new book and on this episode, he argues that education can and must address a twofold crisis in our democracy – a legitimacy crisis and an epistemic crisis. Brett and Walter discuss how this can be done in the classroom and beyond. 

Episode Resources

About Walter Parker

Walter's New Book: Education for Liberal Democracy

Walter's Knowledge-in-Action Project

Gutman's Book: Democratic Education

Brett's Media Literacy Education Paper


ESD Podcast Resources

Brett Levy's Open-Access Research Articles (Free Downloads)

Education for Sustainable Democracy Facebook Page (Please Like!)

YouTube Channel for Education for Sustainable Democracy (Please Subscribe!)

Brett Levy's Twitter Page: Handle @brettlmlevy

Education for Sustainable Democracy Homepage

Feedspot's 100 Best Classroom Podcasts (including ESD!)

Related Episodes of ESD

Engagement & Equity in Civic Education, with Jane Lo (Michigan State)

The Civically Engaged Districts Project, with Beth Rubin (Rutgers) and NJ District Administrators (New Brunswick Public Schools)

Helping Youth Become Critical News Consumers, with John Silva and Miriam Romais (News Literacy Project)