Enhancing civic education through the use of assigned advocacy, argumentation, and debate across the curriculum

Evidence shows that the skills and dispositions that lead to thoughtful and effective participation in civic life can be developed and promoted through participation in assigned advocacy, argumentation, and debate. We argue that debate and argumentation are uniquely well suited to be implemented across the curriculum, which means that students could practice engagement with civic life across their disciplinary studies. Finally, we present the results of a survey of debate coaches that found that debate coaches see improvement in their students' research and writing skills, as well as their students' ability to work collaboratively with each other. More specifically, Social Studies and History teachers reported that debate and assigned advocacy improved a large range of skills they seek to cultivate as civic educators.