The April 2025 edition of Inside RAI is taking a special interest in civics. On March 13 the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions cohosted the National Forum of Civic Learning Week with iCivics. Hundreds of educators, policymakers and other experts came to campus for a day of discussion about reinvigorating civic learning, dialogue, and participation in America. Elsewhere, fellows Josiah Ober and Chester E. Finn Jr. demonstrate how they are helping improve civics education in America.
Democratic Citizenship
RAI Director Brandice Canes-Wrone speaks at the iCivics Civic Learning Week National Forum at the Hoover Institution on March 13, 2025. (Patrick Beaudouin)
Civic Learning Week National Forum: Celebrating Many Voices, One Nation
Civics educators, community leaders, and scholars gathered at the Hoover Institution on Thursday, March 13, for a national forum to share stories, ideas, and insights on strengthening civic learning in an era of increasing political polarization. Discussions centered on the dual imperative of expanding civic knowledge and fostering civil discourse—both essential for sustaining a healthy democracy and building trust in institutions.
Presented by iCivics, the Hoover Institution, and Hoover’s Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI), the day’s events emphasized the importance of ensuring that people of all generations have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to actively participate in America’s experiment with democratic self-governance.
Remarking on how civics instruction today does not spend enough time on how government actually works, RAI Director Brandice Canes-Wrone told attendees that improving civics education is the place to start.
“At RAI we believe an important part of revitalizing American institutions is rectifying this situation by contributing to efforts to revitalize civics education.”
Panelists and participants explored how trust and cooperation can be cultivated among an informed citizenry, ensuring that civic education not only imparts essential historical and institutional understanding but also nurtures respectful dialogue across ideological divides.
Hoover Senior Fellow Chester E. Finn Jr. speaks at the iCivics Civic Learning Week National Forum at the Hoover Institution on March 13, 2025. (Patrick Beaudouin)
The gathering saw Chester E. Finn Jr., director of RAI’s Good American Citizenship Working Group, speak about a new citizenship self-assessment tool he and others are building to allow users to reflect on their civic values and knowledge, as well as their preferred forms of engagement within their communities.
Senior Fellow Josiah Ober speaks at the iCivics Civic Learning Week National Forum at the Hoover Institution on March 13, 2025. (Patrick Beaudouin)
Other panels made the case for pluralistic civic learning in K–12, civil society, and postsecondary education settings, including one that featured Senior Fellow Josiah Ober. Elsewhere, Distinguished Fellow Gen. Jim Mattis spoke about the unifying power of civic understanding in the US armed forces. The day also featured a panel discussion with youth on what civics means to them.
Gen. Jim Mattis speaks to attendees of the iCivics Civic Learning Week National Forum in Hoover’s Hauck Auditorium on March 13, 2025. (Patrick Beaudouin)
The forum also featured a conversation between Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice, in which they spoke about how civic leaders and public figures can spur civic involvement and set a good example to a polarized public.
Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice and Utah Governor Spencer Cox speak at the iCivics Civic Learning Week National Forum at the Hoover Institution on March 13, 2025. (Patrick Beaudouin)
Read more and watch sessions here.
Renewing America’s Civic Education
Writing in American Heritage, Senior Fellow Josiah Ober and Brook Manville, who together coauthored The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives, explore the history of civics education in America, back to the nation’s founding in 1776. Over the centuries, interest in civics has crested and waned, but today, they explain, the status is particularly troubling. For instance, recent surveys indicate that 44 percent of Americans cannot name all three branches of government. Also, 30 percent of 12th-grade pupils say they have never participated in any organized form of debate.
In an earlier published interview at Hoover.org about The Civic Bargain, Ober speaks about setting conditions for democracy, making them favorable, and looking to the past for inspiration. He discusses historical democracies, like ancient Greece and Rome, and modern examples such as the UK and the US, to highlight how these societies’ civic bargains have historically helped democracy thrive. The book emphasizes the importance of civic education and the need for citizens to view one another as partners rather than adversaries.
Watch a short video of Ober discussing the concept of the civic bargain here.
At Stanford, Ober leads the Stanford Civics Initiative, which designs and administers civics and politics courses for Stanford undergraduate students, several of which are taught by prominent Hoover Institution fellows.
At Hoover, Ober also founded the Alliance for Civics in the Academy, a nonpartisan network of instructors in higher education involved in teaching courses and developing academic programs aimed at civic education.
Good American Citizenship Working Group
RAI’s Good American Citizenship Working Group, led by Chester E. Finn Jr., hosts a number of resources for those interested in civics renewal in America. It seeks to address the country’s dual crises of civic ignorance and irresponsible citizenship via research, communication, and advocacy, building toward the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.
Users can access citizenship resources such as quotes from US presidents and eminent Americans, links to citizenship resources, and a directory of civics groups across the nation.
Upcoming Events:
How Foreign Speech Restrictions Affect American Free Expression (webinar), April 30, 2025, 10:00–11:00 am PT
Building Strategic Competence: An Urgent Priority for Government and the Academy (webinar), May 7, 2025 10:00–11:00 am PT
