Teachers’ Conceptions of Citizenship in an Age of Populism and Knowledge Demobilization

Citizenship remains a contested idea in U.S. public life, especially amid polarization, immigration debates, and curriculum battles. This study examines how secondary social studies teachers define citizenship and how these views shape their perceptions of students. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on interviews with fifteen teachers from diverse regions, the study explores how teachers talk about citizenship, belonging, and who counts as “one of us.” Findings: Most teachers relied on traditional notions of participation, rights, and responsibility, while justice-centered approaches that recognized inequity, exclusion, and structural barriers were largely missing. Teachers described students as full citizens, quasi-citizens in preparation, or uncertain citizens whose belonging was clouded by legal or family status. These categories reveal how teachers’ conceptions can limit students’ civic imagination and reinforce existing boundaries of inclusion. By connecting teachers’ perspectives to broader struggles over populism, inequality, and the erosion of honesty in public life, this study argues for civic education that centers justice and enacts democracy in practice rather than simply describing it in theory.