CERG Civic Engagement Research Group at Mills College Digital Media and Political Inequality among Youth Joseph Kahne Mills College February 25, 2009

CERGCivic Engagement Research Group at Mills College

Digital Media and Political Inequality among Youth

Joseph KahneMills CollegeFebruary 25, 2009


For more information

Joseph Kahne

[email protected]

www.civicsurvey.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.civicsurvey.org/


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?


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


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!


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


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)


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


Adult Civic Knowledge: Room for Improvement

38% of adults could name the three branches of government

59% could name the three Stooges


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)


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


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


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)


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)


Can Education Help?


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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


Education can Promote Civic and Political Engagement

Does education promote more equitable civic and political engagement?


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



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



Compared with white students, Latino students report:

Fewer opportunities for service learning

A less open classroom climateFewer experiences with role plays and simulations



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



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


Education can Promote Engagement

But desirable learning opportunities are inequitably distributed and likely exacerbate inequality.


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


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)


Consumption MattersInformsLeads to interest and discussion

Can lead the production of information

Fosters engagement


Frequency of Digital Participation?

64% of teens engage in online content creation

28% have there own online journal or blog (Lenhart, et al., 2007).


Participation Matters

Develops skills

Norms of participation


Frequency of Digital Game Play?

We asked 1,102 young people if they had played a video game

39 said “No”


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


Civilization


Frequency of Digital Civic Education?

Teachers are engaging in digital civic education.


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


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).


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.


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.


Digital Civic Education is Equitably Distributed.

No differences in frequency of these experiences by race, gender, SES, or academic achievement.


Digital Media may facilitate Recruitment.

Ease of recruitment shapes college/non-college gap.


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.


Implications

Your

Thoughts,

Questions, …

Documents

CERG Civic Engagement Research Group at Mills College Digital Media and Political Inequality among Youth Joseph Kahne Mills College February 25, 2009