Work

Does Civic Education Impact Primary School Students’ Civic Outcomes? Experimental Evidence from Liberia

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We present experimental evidence on a civic education program in Liberia’s public primary schools across 140 schools serving grades 3 and 4. The program provided new civic textbooks, teacher training, twice-weekly instruction, and regular classroom monitoring. After one school year, treatment students scored 0.38 SDs higher on civic knowledge assessments. Gains were concentrated in factual knowledge (0.37 SDs), with positive effects across the achievement distribution. However, the program had no impact on students’ civic engagement. Classroom observation data reveal that instruction was heavily textbook-centered, in contrast to the participatory models common in high-income countries.

Source: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

DOI: 10.3102/01623737261468263

Authors: Sorana Acris, Alejandro J. Ganimian, Elisabeth King, Kate Marple-Cantrell

Institution: New York University

Language: English

Topic: Citizenship Education and Democracy

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: United States Agency for International Development, York University