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Polit Behav (2008) 30:437454
DOI 10.1007/s11109-008-9063-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
David E. Campbell
Published online: 17 April 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008
Abstract Does civics instruction have an impact on the political engagement of adolescents? If so, how? Analysis of data from CIVED, a major study of civic education conducted in 1999, nds that an open classroom climate has a positive impact on adolescents civic knowledge and appreciation of political conict, even upon controlling for numerous individual, classroom, school, and district characteristics. Furthermore, an open classroom environment fosters young peoples intention to be an informed voter. Results further show that exposure to an open classroom climate at school can partially compensate for the disadvantages of young people with low socioeconomic status.
Keywords Civic engagement Civic education Political socialization
This paper asks whether schools have an impact on the likelihood that young people will develop into active, informed citizens. And, if so, does civic education at school compensate for the disadvantages of young people with low socioeconomic status?
While once a booming area of research in political science (Greenstein 1965; Easton and Dennis 1969; Hess and Torney 1967; Jennings and Niemi 1974), the study of young people had until recently fallen largely by the wayside. There is currently a revival of interest in the topic, but political scientists inattention to the
This research has been supported by the generous assistance of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Leaning and Engagement (CIRCLE) and the National Academy of Educations postdoctoral fellowship program. Additional funding for research assistance has also come from the University of Notre Dames Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. Earlier versions were presented at the annual meeting of the CIRCLE advisory board, and Notre Dames Program in American Democracy workshop. Able research assistance has been provided by Jacqueline Genesio.
D. E. Campbell (&)
University of Notre Dame, 217 OShaughnessy Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Voice in the Classroom: How an Open Classroom Climate Fosters Political Engagement Among Adolescents
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civic development of young people over the last generation has left a blind-spot in our understanding of political engagement, which the new generation of scholarship is only beginning to correct (Campbell 2002; Campbell and Wolbrecht 2006; Conover and Searing...