Adult Education Administrator's Manual

Instructional Services
Special Populations

EL Civics

English Literacy and Civics Education Programs
This initiative not only expands English literacy services, but promotes the development of integrated programs of services that incorporate civics education. To effectively participate in the education, work and civic opportunities of this country, immigrants and other limited English proficient persons must master English and be able to understand and navigate government, educational, and workplace systems and key American institutions, such as banking and health care. The EL/Civics Program provides instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, naturalization procedures, civic participation, and U.S. history and government so that these recipients can acquire the skills and knowledge to become active and informed parents, workers and community leaders.

Civics education as defined in the November 17, 1990 Federal Register means “an educational program that emphasizes contextualized instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, naturalization procedures, civic participation, and U.S. history and government to help students acquire the skills and knowledge to become active and informed parents, workers, and community members.” This program encourages all providers of adult education programs and services to consider what supplemental activities and programs can best address the needs of adults who are immigrants or limited in their proficiency of English.

Programs participating in EL Civics follow three program components.

1. Implementation – programs focus on implementing EL Civics classes that include a comprehensive civic participation element and stress “contextualized instruction” and “experiential learning” in which language and literacy are developed. Activities may include conversations on local and national issues or participation in community initiatives, and volunteer opportunities.
   
2. Enrichment - Programs focus on the use of programmatic strategies to enrich or enhance civic participation. Activities may include researching resources that focus on government institutions, visiting government agencies, or presentations by outside agencies.
   
3. Intergenerational – Programs focus on the use of “asset based community capacity building models” to supplement agency activities in order to develop services that involve different generation in interactive, collaborative, community based literacy and civic participation. Programs can focus on building parental skills to support the academic achievement of children or support programs for isolated seniors and/or community members with disabilities.

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