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CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Digital Media and Political Inequality among Youth
Joseph KahneMills CollegeFebruary 25, 2009
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
For more information
Joseph Kahne
jkahne@mills.edu
www.civicsurvey.org
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Focus of the Presentation
1. Participation is lower than desired and unequal.
2. Schools can promote civic and political participation, but do so inequitably
3. Can digital media promote participation equitably?
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Good News!Youth Voting - Up
The youth vote has risen steadily from 37% in 1996 to 52% in 2008
Youth participation up in primaries youth turnout tripled in Iowa, Georgia,
Missouri, and Oklahoma youth turnout quadrupled in
Tennessee
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
We Know Youth Care about Others
“I try to help when I see people in need”
86% Agree – 5% Disagree
84% reported volunteering in high school!
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Room for Improvement:The Youth Vote
In most primaries more than 80% of those 18-29 did not vote
In the presidential election 48% of those 18-29 did not vote
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Youth Participation
55% of youth (18-29) were judged to be disengaged in 2008
9% of youth could list two ways a democratic society benefits from civic participation (From NAEP)
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Civic Knowledge
Many students lack basic civic knowledge
50% could not identify the correct function of the Supreme Court
33% could not identify either of California’s U.S. Senators from among a list of options
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Adult Civic Knowledge: Room for Improvement
38% of adults could name the three branches of government
59% could name the three Stooges
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Civic & Political Inequality
“Citizens with low or moderate incomes speak with a whisper that is lost on the ears of inattentive government, while the advantaged roar with the clarity and consistency that policymakers readily head” (APSA)
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Influence Is Unequal
The policy preferences of those in the bottom third of the income distribution had no apparent statistical effect on their senators’ roll call votes.
-- Larry Bartels
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Unequal Voice High vs. Low Income Citizens
4x as likely to do campaign work
3x as likely to do informal community work
2x as likely to contact elected officials
9x as likely to contribute to campaigns
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Youth Participation is Unequal
The Youth Voting Gap
25% of 18-29 yr olds with at least some college voted in primaries (1 in 4)
7% of 18-29 yr olds with no college experience voted in primaries (1 in 14)
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Youth Participation Gap
Of young adults under 30 :
41% with some college experience were not very engaged.
81% with no college experience were not very engaged. (Civic Health Index)
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Can Education Help?
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
The Basic Question Do civic learning opportunities promote
commitments to civic participation and actual participation?
Controlling for Prior commitments Demographics Other school qualities Parental participation
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Promising Educational Practices
1. Instruction in Gov’t, History, Econ
2. Discussions of Current Events
3. Service Learning
4. Extracurricular Activities
5. Student Voice in Schools and Classrooms
6. Simulations
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Chicago Study Methodology and Sample (With Sue Sporte)
Included students who took our survey in 2003 and 2005
Total of 52 schools - 4,057 students
Assessed the relationship of civic learning opportunities to civic commitments with a series of 3-level HLM models.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
0.14 *** 0.13 ***
0.05 *
-0.05
0.05
0.15
0.25
0.35
Parent/Student Talk NeighborhoodSocial Capital
School Sense of Belonging
Civic Community Variables
Civ
ic C
om
mit
men
t E
ffect
S
izes
Experiencing Civic Community Promotes Civic Commitments
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
0.39 ***
0.2 ***
0.34 ***
-0.05
0.05
0.15
0.25
0.35
Service Learning
Classroom Civic LearningOpportunities
Civic CommitmentsIn 2003
Civic Learning Variables
Civ
ic C
om
mit
men
ts E
ffect
Siz
es
Classroom-Based Civic Learning Opportunities MATTER
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Schools Could Alter Inequality
39
16
68
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
"Average" Classroom Civic Opportunities
"Low" Classroom Civic Opportunities
"High" Classroom Civic
Opportunities
Varying levels of Civic Learning Opportunities. Always one SD below average on Parent and Neighborhood Civic Context
Perc
enti
le R
anki
ng, C
ivic
Com
mit
ments
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
The California Survey of Civic Education(With Ellen Middaugh)
A Diverse Group of California High Schools Demographic range of race, ethnicity,
achievement level, socioeconomic status, and geography (rural, urban, suburban)
2005: 2,366 students surveyed in spring of their senior year
2006: 2,151 students surveyed (898 seniors,1,253 juniors)
2007: Post surveys given to 514 students from junior sample -- now seniors
School Practices & Outcomes
Commitment to
Participation
Intend to
Vote
Informedto
Vote
CivicSkills
PoliticalKnowledge
PoliticalInterest
Classroom-Based Instruction Gov, Hist, Law Current Events Open Class Climate
Experiential Learning Opportunities Service Learning Extracurricular Activities Simulations
Statistically significant
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
These Commitments Relate to Future Behavior
Commitments to Participatory Citizenship, Political Interest, and Intention to Vote predict: electoral activity, staying informed about politics
and current events civic activity
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Education can Promote Civic and Political Engagement
Does education promote more equitable civic and political engagement?
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Unequal Civic Learning Opportunities
32% of youth going to 4 yr. colleges said they had “a lot” of opportunities to do service learning in high school
16% of youth going to 2 yr. voc. education said they had “A lot” of opportunities to do service learning in high school
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Unequal Civic Learning Opportunities
Compared with white students
African-American students report:
Fewer civically oriented government courses
Fewer discussions of social problems and current events
A less open classroom climate
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Unequal Civic Learning Opportunities
Compared with white students, Latino students report:
Fewer opportunities for service learning
A less open classroom climateFewer experiences with role plays and simulations
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Unequal Civic Learning Opportunities
Compared with students taking AP American Government, students in College Prep Gov’t classes report fewer of all civic learning opportunities
80% of AP sample took part in simulations
51% of CP students took part in simulation
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Unequal Civic Learning Opportunities
Our analysis of the IEA National Database
Compared to 9th graders in classes of average SES, 9th graders in classes of high SES were: 2x more likely to discuss how laws are
made 1.9x more likely to report participating in
service activities 1.6x as likely to take part in a debate or
panel discussion
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Education can Promote Engagement
But desirable learning opportunities are inequitably distributed and likely exacerbate inequality.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Can Digital Media Promote Civic and Political Equality?
Digital Consumption of Civic Information
Digital Participation in Civic Life
Digital Play Related to Civic Content
Digital Civic Education
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Frequency of Digital Consumption of Civic InformationYouth getting campaign news from the internet more than doubled btw 2004 and 2008 – to 46%
37% of 18-24 year olds also got campaign news from social networking sites
41% of 18-29 year olds have gone online to watch interviews, commercials, debates, speeches. (Kohut, et al., 2008)
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Consumption MattersInformsLeads to interest and discussion
Can lead the production of information
Fosters engagement
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Frequency of Digital Participation?
64% of teens engage in online content creation
28% have there own online journal or blog (Lenhart, et al., 2007).
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Participation Matters
Develops skills
Norms of participation
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Frequency of Digital Game Play?
We asked 1,102 young people if they had played a video game
39 said “No”
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Civic Gaming opportunities May Promote Civic Outcomes
School-Based Video Game BasedInstruction in civically
relevant disciplinesDiscuss current events
and social issuesService LearningExtracurricular activitiesStudent governanceSimulations of civic
processes
Games w/civic contentOpen discussions
current events w/in games
Helping and leading w/in game community
Extra-game activitiesPlayer governanceSimulations of civic
processes
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Civilization
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Frequency of Digital Civic Education?
Teachers are engaging in digital civic education.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Digital Civic Education Matters. It promotes
Non-school exposure to online communities with diverse civic and political priorities
Non-school online leadership opportunities
Commitments to civic participation
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Digital consumption of civic information is unequal
Those with at least one year of college are twice as likely to use the internet to get civic information weekly (Civic Health Index).
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Some forms of Digital Participation are relatively equal
Social Networking: 57% with college experience vs 52% without college experience used Facebook or MySpace to address social issues.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Civic Gaming Experiences appear to be equal
Teens have equal exposure to civic gaming experiences irrespective of income level, race, and age.
Girls have fewer of these experiences than boys.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Digital Civic Education is Equitably Distributed.
No differences in frequency of these experiences by race, gender, SES, or academic achievement.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Digital Media may facilitate Recruitment.
Ease of recruitment shapes college/non-college gap.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
SummaryDM provides many opportunities to foster
engagement.
Digital civic participation, civic gaming, and civic education appear equitably distributed.
Digital Media may provide a means of recruiting groups that are currently less engaged.
CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College
Implications
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