My research interests have emerged from ongoing experiences as a civic educator in formal and informal political and educative spaces and institutions.
I currently examine how civic education policy produces citizens. I draw from work in political science (policy feedback, political behavior and socialization) and education (civic and democratic education, curriculum theory) to interrogate how the content and pedagogy of traditional and formal civics courses activate the citizenship of privileged youth and burden that of historically marginalized young people. In-progress papers related to this project rely on qualitative (focus groups, interviews) and quantitative (surveys, RCTs) methods informed by community-engaged approaches that center youth voice.
Ongoing and future projects include:
- the political role of teachers as policy implementers (“street-level bureaucrats”)
- the impact of youth engagement as poll workers on civic participation
- community feedback to improve civic tech related to school choice policy
- teacher disclosure and open classroom climates
Research + Writing
Peer Reviewed
Dym, A. (forthcoming – Fall 2025). Bringing Schools In: An Interdisciplinary Research Agenda for Youth Political Socialization in a Time of Polarization. Response to “Heated, Polarized, and Annoying”: The Characteristics and Consequences of Affective Polarization in Independent High Schools, Nora Gross, Ellen Bryer, Charlotte E. Jacobs, Jarvis Goosby. Democracy & Education, forthcoming.
Bueso, L., Ing, M., Dym, A., Kahne, J. (forthcoming – Fall 2025). Assessing Student Engagement and Student Learning Outcomes in a U.S. History and Civics Curriculum. In Promoting K-12 Civic Learning and Engagement through Assessment. Eds. L. Hamilton, S. Rikoon, & D. Kidd.
Jay, L. & Dym, A. (2025). Meeting the moment: Preparing students for the current political climate in history and civics classrooms. Social Education, 89(4). https://www.socialstudies.org/social-education/89/4.
Lydic, K., Falk, E. B., Carpini, M. X. D., Cooper, N., Dym, A., & Cosme, D. (2025, July 3). Autonomy as civic motivation: Associations between autonomy and civic duty, civic action, and voting. PsyArXiv Preprints, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/4bcq2_v1
Comstock, M., Kaul, M., Dym, A., Lee, Y., & Kim, S. (2025). Behind the Push for Licensure Reform: How Beliefs About the Teaching Profession Unite and Divide Coalitions. (EdWorkingPaper: 25-1219). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/nk71-1487
Dym, A. (2025). The Politics of Civic Education: Local Reactions to National Initiatives and State Mandates, by Eleni M. Mantas-Kourounis. Political Science Quarterly: https://doi.org/10.1093/psquar/qqaf080.
Conrad, J., Schiera, A. J., & Dym, A. (2024). Decentering teacher voice - And stance? Teacher candidates’ explicit and implicit disclosure in social studies discussions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 146, 104637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104637
Maddox, S., Dym, A., Andrezjewski, M., Kikut, A., Wan, C., Davidson, J. (2023). Developing Mutually Beneficial University-Community Partnerships: Graduate and Undergraduate Students Reflect on their Community-Engaged Projects. Universities and Community Schools, 11(1), 2-11.
Under Review
Dym, A. (R&R). “Learning to Vote: Education and Political Participation in the United States.”
Dym, A. (Under Review). “Reconceptualizing Civic Competence: A Lived Civics Approach to Political Knowledge”
Dym, A. (Under Review). “Democratizing Civics: Youth Participatory Action Research and Project-Based Learning for Renewed Civic Education.”
In Process
Dym, A., Kahne, J., & Bueso, L. (In process). “Scaling Civics in the Social Studies: A Democratic Research Agenda for Implementing and Scaling Civic Education.”
Dym. A., Conard, J., Schiera, A. J. (In process). “Hidden Politics: Reconceptualizing Strategic Political Disclosure as Democratic Care in Civic Education.”
Policy and Public Work
Quinn, T., & Dym, A. 2022. “The Teen Vote is Powerful. Here’s How to Harness it in Pennsylvania.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved from https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/teen-voters-2022-pennsylvania-midterm-elections-20220413.html
Finney, J.E., Dym, A., Williams, B., Granville, P., Napier, A. “College Opportunity at Risk: An Assessment of the States.” Institute for Research on Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania.