College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework in Geography Education

by

Rebecca Theobald

• LAST MODIFIED: 17 April 2025
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199874002-0288

Introduction

The 114-page document, College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, subtitled Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History, was published in the United States by the National Council for the Social Studies in 2013. Fifteen professional organizations, including the Association of American Geographers (now American Association of Geographers), National Council for Geographic Education, and National Geographic Society collaborated in its production. The seventeen-person writing team included Susan Hardwick (b. 1945–d. 2015), professor emerita of geography at the University of Oregon, who contributed to the 1994 Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, and Robert Morrill, professor emeritus of geography at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and co-coordinator of the Virginia Geographic Alliance. Dr. Morrill guided multiple publications, outlining guidelines for geography education from 1984 to 2013. Only one other member of the writing team mentioned “geography” in their biography, Karen Thomas-Brown, who has researched “the impact of gender on the teaching and learning of geography.” Over a third of the members of the writing team were historians, three specialized in economics, two in civics, and four in pedagogy, including Kathy Swan, the lead writer and project director. The objective of the project was to support the development of skills and concepts required to conduct inquiry—which encourages students to ask questions and engage in problem solving, rather than to offer specific content for the four core disciplines of social studies, as curriculum was intended to be developed through state standards. The C3 Framework describes connections to the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy prepared by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) in 2010. The document provides a helpful guide, “How to Read the C3 Framework,” and reminds readers that several issues are not covered in the C3 Framework, including rigorous content resources, substantive materials for social studies disciplines beyond the four core ones identified previously, and approaches to supporting students of varied abilities and strengths. The pedagogical methods and tactics to evaluate sources and use evidence apply effectively to all disciplines, with useful examples specific to geography offered at multiple learning levels. Terms familiar to geographers and geography educators are found in the section, “Applying Disciplinary Concepts & Tools.” In examining the glossary of key terms, just under a third (forty-seven) reference economic ideas, while a quarter (thirty-nine) are linked to geography; 15 percent (twenty-three) were general (such as “evidence” or “technical”), and another 14 percent each (twenty-two) referenced civics and historic terminology.

General Overviews

While the C3 Framework document (NCSS 2013) provides a balanced approach to teaching all four core disciplines understood by the social studies community in the United States, the implementation of civics, economics, geography, and history coursework in primary and secondary schools is much more uneven according to Swan and Griffin 2013. This is due to an emphasis on reading and math instruction over science and social studies content, and to more funding for STEM (science, technology, math, and engineering) fields than for social studies and other programs. Background on the development of the C3 Framework project was introduced through multiple perspectives from Griffin 2013a, Griffin 2013b, Lee and Swan 2013, and Herczog 2013 in Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).

• Griffin, Susan. “The Development of the C3 Framework.” Social Education 77.4 (2013a): 220–221.

  This commentary explains the C3 Framework as a response to the Common Core and the development of what would become the Next Generation Science Standards, while emphasizing a new approach to social studies instruction beyond lists of dates, people, and events.

• Griffin, Susan. “Who, What, Where, How, and Now? The C3 Framework and the C3 Literacy Collaborative Project.” Social Education 80.6 (2013b): 330–332.

  Geography is included in the C3 Framework project based on its position as a core subject in the “No Child Left Behind Framework.” This article comments on the intersection between the C3 Framework and the common core literacy requirements.

• Herczog, Michelle M. “The Links between the C3 Framework and the NCSS National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.” Social Education 77.6 (2013): 331–333.

  The difference between standards and framework is described, with the former having more information about curriculum. The author establishes a connection with the 2010 standards and observes that the goal of education—to which social studies contributes—is to prepare students for civic life.

• Lee, John, and Kathy Swan. “Is the Common Core Good for Social Studies? Yes, but . . . ” Social Education 77.6 (2013): 327–330.

  This review highlights the disciplinary context for teaching about perspectives within social studies, stating that the four core disciplines are on “equal footing”. The interplay between understanding text and learning information is emphasized by referencing the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts originally released in 2010.

• National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History. Silver Spring, MD: National Council for the Social Studies, 2013.

  This project offers guides for teaching social studies in elementary and secondary schools in the United States with the intent of preparing students for college, careers, and civic life by emphasizing inquiry-based learning and critical thinking across the disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history. State education departments may use it to structure their standards and teachers may use the material in the classroom as a guide for instruction.

• Swan, Kathy, and Susan Griffin. “Beating the Odds: The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies Standards.” Social Education 77.4 (2013): 317–321.

  This introduction acknowledges the challenge of navigating among disciplines, including geography. The authors review foundational ideas and identify the anticipated concerns of implementation as states will not be asked to adopt the framework in a formal sense.