Dissertation Defense Announcement Ed.D. Program: Michael Catelli “Civic Learning Under Pressure: A Dual-Site Case Study of Civic Instruction During Political Polarization”

In an increasingly polarized political environment, many school administrators view instruction that promotes meaningful civic engagement as too controversial for classrooms (Rogers & Kahne, 2021). The use of meaningful practices, such as classroom discussions, is constrained by staff nervousness stemming from perceived political pressures (Waller, 2025). While research has examined how educational leaders guide civics education (Hambacher et al., 2025; Journell, 2022) and how increased political polarization has influenced civics instruction (Stevens et al., 2025; Waller, 2025), we lack research that examines these aspects together.

The purpose of this qualitative, dual-site case study was to explore how school administrators supported civics education at sites that articulated and pursued civic goals. Data were collected through interviews, artifact analysis, and observations across two school sites in two different New Jersey districts. The study data were analyzed using the Lived Civics framework (Cohen et al., 2018) to examine how staff conceptualized the objectives of civics education. Relational Trust (Bryk & Schneider, 2002) was applied as a second framework to examine how administration supported staff in polarized environments.

The data yielded four major findings. First, one site demonstrated how educators balanced meaningful civic engagement with perceived political risk through a neutrality-focused approach encouraged by administrators. Second, at the other site, administrative support emboldened teachers to embrace the district’s goal of integrating active citizenship into required history courses. Third, across the two cases, administrators used three strategies to reinforce established civic goals (a) articulating protective guidelines; (b) fostering collaboration; (c) promoting skill-centered civics education. Fourth, administrators’ efforts to support civic education were complicated by three major tensions: (a) sidelining digital platforms in civics education due to negative perceptions; (b) classroom discussion practices that limited opportunities for student-led dialogue; (c) longstanding norms of autonomy that complicated civic alignment.

This study contributes to civics education literature by deepening research on how administrative support enables teachers to integrate civic goals amid heightened polarization. It also has implications for administrators guiding civics instruction, teachers enacting effective civic practices, and administrator preparation programs developing essential skills.