Balancing the Books: Analyzing the Impact of a Federal Budget Deliberative Simulation on Student Learning and Opinion

Abstract

The federal budget and the rising national debt are crucial concerns in American politics. Yet, they are issues about which average citizens, and particularly young citizens, are presumed to have limited knowledge and very little to say. They are also topics that are not generally seen as engaging to students in introductory political science courses. This article describes the implementation and assessment of a deliberative simulation of the budget process that aimed to inform students about the federal budget through active learning. We use an experimental design to test the impact of the deliberative exercise on two factors: (1) students’ retention of knowledge about the federal budget and (2) the effect of public debate on students’ substantive policy decisions about the budget. As the deliberative exercise we employ mirrors one conducted nationally among the general public by the organization AmericaSpeaks, we also compare students’ responses with those of citizens more generally.