Joseph Kahne, Director
Joseph Kahne is currently the Abbie Valley Professor of Education and Dean of the School of Education at Mills College. He studies the democratic purposes of education and urban school reform. He is currently conducting a statewide study of the civic/democratic commitments, capacities, and activities of high school students in California and of the distribution and impact of school-based opportunities that aim to develop citizens for democratic citizenship. He is also conducting a longitudinal study of the civic implications of young people's use of the internet and other forms of digital media. He is just completing (co-directed with John Easton of the Consortium on Chicago School Reform) a three year study of Chicago's high schools and the small school reform effort in particular. Recent publications include: "What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy" in the American Education Research Journal and "The Limits of Political Efficacy: Educating Citizens for a Democratic Society" in PS: Political Science and Politics, both co-written with Joel Westheimer; and "Is Patriotism Good for Democracy? A Study of High School Seniors' Patriotic Commitments" Phi Delta Kappan, co-written with Ellen Middaugh. In addition, Dr. Kahne serves in an advisory capacity to several civic initiatives, organizations, and foundations Link to CV.

Ellen Middaugh, Research Associate
Ellen Middaugh is currently a doctoral candidate in Human Development at UC Berkeley's School of Education and is Research Associate at Mills College's School of Education. She has been conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies of civic and political socialization more generally for several years now, Recent publications include "Is Patriotism Good for Democracy? A Study of High School Seniors' Patriotic Commitments" in Phi Delta Kappan, and "Civic Development in Context: The Influence of Local Contexts on High School Students' Beliefs about Civic Engagement" forthcoming in Educating Citizens for Troubled Times: Qualitative Studies of Current Efforts, both co-written with Joe Kahne; and "Thinking in a Democratic Way: Hilda Taba and the Ethos of Brown" in the Journal Curriculum and Supervision, co-written with Daniel Perlstein. Her dissertation explores adolescent reasoning about civic and political engagement. Link to CV.

Chris Evans, Project Assistant
Chris Evans is currently assisting Joe Kahne and Ellen Middaugh coordinate their longitudinal study on the civic implications of young people's digital media use. Her background includes undergraduate and graduate work in literature and comparative literature at Stanford, San Francisco State and UC Davis. Her graduate research focused on the aesthetic relationships between music, literature, and folklore forms in Spanish arts traditions. She is currently developing a multidisciplinary theater piece about the effects of "everyday violence" on people as they move through collective urban spaces. Link to CV.