Working Papers

The following are in various stages of completion. If you have any questions, please email me.

Do We Encourage Citizenship: Social Studies Curricula in the Various States	In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance dictated that in order encourage good character in its citizens, territories would have to have a school. Thus public education in this country has been in the business of training citizens since its inception. I look at the social studies curricula of the various states in this nation to see whether good citizenship is being encouraged. As there is no end of level test in this area and as common core provides no guidelines in this area, I can look to see what happens with regard to citizenship in states with different types of encouragement.
Presidential Mandate or Congressional Priming: An Empirical Analysis of Presidential Success in Congress	While the predominant perception of the relationship between Congress and the Presidency this past century has been one of the president leading, current research is beginning to put that assumption to the empirical test. In this study, I refute the old idea that Congress is a secondary player in the separated system by introducing a new variable: congressional history on legislation.
Campus Climates for Political Learning	The American Association for State Colleges and University’s (AASCU’s) American Democracy Project (ADP) and the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE), located at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, formed a three-year partnership to pilot a process for fostering institutional change to advance political learning and engagement on college campuses. The multidimensional approach to collecting information, deploying dialogues, and crafting interventions provided insight into the necessity of generating institutional support for civic engagement initiatives. One piece of this work has been published (Assessing and Improving Political Learning and Engagement on College Campuses) and another piece is under revision due for publication later this year.