Civic ParticipationTrends & Analysis

Why is Civic Participation Down?

Declining Social Capital: Trends over the last 25 years

•Attending Club Meetings

•Family dinners

•Having friends over

How often respondents followed public affairs.

56%60%

49%

38%32%

8%

Date Born

Before1930

1930-1945

1945-1954

1955-1964

1965-1978 1978-

Political Participation

• 14 percent of young people between 1970 and 1982 never discuss politics with family or friends. (national Election Studies)

Political Engagement of U.S.Youth

2000 54.7 32.31996 54.2 32.41992 61.3 42.81988 57.4 36.21984 59.9 40.81980 59.3 39.91976 59.2 42.21972 63.0 49.6

Total Voting Age Population

Year Ages 18-24

Percentage of Persons Voting in Presidential Elections 1972-2000 (Source: US Census Bureau)

The percentage of young Americans that vote in presidential elections has been falling since 1972.

On one survey, almost half of US youth said voting is not important.

A writer charged our youth with having:

• “Only one conviction: that the only answers they can make is distrust. They have no ardor except for the tentative safety of the quiet suburb, an orthodoxy of indifference. They have only an overriding fear of commitment and a will to be let alone”

Why is Civic Participation Important?• Short-sited decisions by or

representatives• Greater Social Inequality• Undermine democracy (the

people)

Why is Civic Participation Down?• Class Discussion

Possible Reasons•Relative Prosperity•No unifying event.•Parental Trends (boomers)

•Candidates don’t Appeal to them directly

Schools can make a difference• Students who studied social studies almost every day had higher scores.• Schools that model democratic processes in classrooms, by creating an

open climate for discussion of issues, are most effective in promoting civic knowledge, engagement.

• Students who participated in meetings or activities sponsored by any type of organization, even if they participated only a few times a month, had higher civic knowledge than students who did not participate at all.

• Students who engaged in non-school activities directly related to academics did better than their peers who did not.(Source: NCES 2001)

School culture linked to democracy

• Show respect and tolerance for ideas

• Encourage independent thinking

• Give real problems to solve• Encourage teamwork• Arm students with

academic skills