Paul Pe
The Feb. 9-10 public launch of Or Initiative at Chapman University featured the release of a national research report examining how young people are navigating civic discourse in a deeply polarized digital era.
The report, Coming of Age in Polarized Times: Teaching Civil Discourse in a Digital Era, finds that adolescents are grappling with the most polarizing civic and geopolitical issues of the moment, often in digital spaces that reward speed and certainty. At the same time, researchers found that students are eager for schools to help them slow down, build shared evidence and learn how to remain in dialogue with one another across differences.
The report focused on in-depth interviews with eighth- and 11th-grade students and educators in California and New York, alongside a national review of middle- and high-school curricula. The two-day convening at Chapman’s Fish Interfaith Center brought together researchers, middle- and high-school educators, curriculum leaders, ed-tech developers and national experts to explore how schools can better respond to the civic and digital realities young people face daily.
“Students are not disengaged from the world’s hardest questions; they are immersed in them,” said Vikki Katz, executive director of Or Initiative and the Fletcher Jones Professor of Free Speech in the School of Communication at Chapman University. “What they are missing are spaces where they can slow down, sort out what is knowable, and talk with one another without being pushed to pick a side on complex topics. Our research shows they want schools to help and that educators need better tools and support to do that work well.”
In addition to releasing the report, Or Initiative shared its teaching and learning framework and early classroom resources designed to help educators address difficult and contested issues. During small-group working sessions, educators collaborated with designers and researchers to test prototype curriculum materials, identify real classroom dilemmas and surface ideas for future digital tools and pilot programs.
Chapman President Matt Parlow emphasized the university’s commitment to advancing civil discourse through research and innovation.
“The Or Initiative reflects Chapman at its best,” said Parlow. “It brings together research, curriculum design, youth development and digital innovation to help classrooms become places where students can build shared knowledge and engage across difference. We are proud this work is based here at Chapman University and grateful for the support of the Samueli Foundation in making it possible.”
Organizers said that the Initiative’s research-to-practice model is designed to translate findings directly into classroom-ready approaches that can be adapted and implemented by educators.
The launch event also featured a panel moderated by Anya Kamenetz, with panelists including Louise Dubé of iCivics, Joel Breakstone of Digital Inquiry Group, and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, creator of the Jewish American Hidden Voices curriculum. The discussion examined the intersection of civic learning, digital literacy and democratic resilience.
