Future Civic Engagement Research Articles

Associations between parental civic engagement, negative beliefs towardcivic engagement and youths' future civic attitudes and behaviors.

Civic engagement (CE) in adolescence is associated with a higher level of engagement in adulthood and is reported to be beneficial to youth's development and societal well-being. Parents are among the most influential factors in adolescents' lives. This study examined the associations between parents' own civic participation, their negative beliefs toward youth CE and their child's future CE. While prior research documented positive associations between parental civic behaviors and youth CE, the role of parental negative beliefs has remained unexplored and could act as an additional barrier to adolescents' CE. A total of 234 adolescents (65% girls; mean age = 13.77) and their parents (79% mothers; mean age = 44.20), residing in the Canadian province of Quebec from 2016 to 2019, were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Parents completed measures of their civic activities and their negative beliefs regarding youth CE. Adolescents completed measures of future civic attitudes and behaviors. Hierarchical regressions revealed significant positive cross-sectional associations between parental civic behaviors and their child's future civic attitudes and behaviors. However, parental negative beliefs toward youth CE were negatively associated with youths' future civic attitudes and behaviors, even after considering parental civic behaviors and family socioeconomic status. Adolescents' age did not moderate these relationships. These findings highlight the significant role that parents could play in shaping CE of future generations. Interventions promoting youth CE should thus target both adolescents and their parents.

The Role of the Church in the End SARS Protest in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis

The End SARS protest in Nigeria, a nationwide demonstration against police brutality, witnessed the active involvement of the church as a significant social institution. This study critically examines the church's role, motivations, and the impact of its participation on the protest's trajectory and outcomes. Using a qualitative research approach, the study draws on in-depth interviews with church leaders, activists, and protest participants, as well as a comprehensive analysis of media reports and scholarly literature. The findings reveal the church's multifaceted engagement, ranging from providing spiritual and material support to protesters to actively advocating for change and facilitating mediation efforts. The study contributes to the understanding of the complex interplay between religion, social movements, and political dynamics in contemporary Nigeria, offering insights that can inform future civic engagement and the church's role in addressing societal challenges.

Exploring the service learning program in the transition country context from the students' philanthropic behaviour vantage point: Case of Croatia

AbstractService learning is gaining growing attention in the academic community worldwide largely due to the benefits related to distinctive service learning outcomes. Among the many valuable student‐level outcomes, intention for future civic engagement through philanthropic behaviour is one of the most commonly investigated. This study provides an in‐depth analysis of students' participation in service‐learning programs and their future philanthropic behaviour in the form of volunteerism. A qualitative content analysis is conducted on the sample of students participating in an university's institutionalized service learning program of a transition country to explore its outcomes in this distinctive context. The findings identify four essential elements in assessing service learning participation, including three previously recognized ones and one emerging from the distinctive transition economy context. The findings are of particular importance for shaping the future civic engagement of students through philanthropic activities.

Active civic education using project-based learning and attitudes towards civic engagement

The paper investigates the effect of active civic education using project-based learning (PBL) on attitudes towards civic engagement in a heterogeneous society. The study used a qualitative research approach involving a content analysis of responses to open-ended questionnaires, students' reports and weekly discussions with the students. The study examines whether the PBL teaching approach, which was developed in medical schools, can be an effective tool for use in civic studies to promote civic engagement of college students in a multi-ethnic society. Active civic education matters; it prompted non-Jewish minority students in Israeli society to consider future civic engagement, and improved their understanding of the concepts of accountability, transparency, civil and human rights, and the ability of individuals in a democracy to obtain answers from their government. It also underscored their ability and obligation to contribute to their communities.

Immersion: Not Just for Students Anymore

Offering community-based global immersion experiences for faculty and staff members provides transformational learning opportunities. This study explored perspectives of faculty and staff participating in university-sponsored immersion programs as professional development and their subsequent influence on both classroom instruction and immersion experiences for students. A qualitative descriptive method was used to capture the experiences of community-based global immersion in faculty learning communities. Perspectives shared through individual interviews illustrated the personal and professional development through engagement in community-based global learning. Faculty and staff reported how dissonance prompted internal transformations to new or modified perspectives. Most significantly, participants identified an increase in compassion for students from diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, through the shared experience, relationships among faculty and staff developed across disciplines, unifying efforts toward strategic goals of providing community-based global immersion for students. These experiences have the potential to foster students’ holistic development, thus furthering the university’s mission of preparing students for future civic engagement.

Predictors of Scientific Civic Engagement (PSCE) Survey: A Multidimensional Instrument to Measure Undergraduates' Attitudes, Knowledge, and Intention to Engage with the Community Using Their Science Skills.

Civic engagement is an individual's active participation that is intended to improve a community's socioeconomic status or help shape its future. Undergraduates who engage with a community during formal course work are more likely to participate civically later in life. This outcome is important for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students since they use STEM knowledge to make informed decisions about public health, national security and the environment. STEM courses that incorporate this idea actively engage students in helping communities, and yet, assessment of the civic outcomes in these courses, such as measuring important predictors of future civic engagement, has been inconsistent and challenging. To address this need, we designed and assessed a new survey by adapting and testing items from previously existing civic engagement measures. The result was a 14-item survey comprising the following scientific civic constructs, that predict future scientific civic engagement: value, self-efficacy, action, and knowledge. This survey has potential to provide insight into the development of scientific civic engagement for STEM disciplines among undergraduate populations and can be used with additional scales of interest, allowing for researchers to assess relationships between predictors of scientific civic engagement and other constructs.

Retrofitting Makerspace: Unifying Outdoor-Indoor activities for Civic Engagement at Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur

A contemporary approach of makerspace that combines art, technology, learning and collaboration has been widely integrated into the 21st-century civic infrastructures. However, it has resembled chiefly the maker movement of indoor spaces compared to outdoor or hybrid indoor-outdoor spaces. Hence, this paper intends to explore the potential of retrofit makerspaces that merges the usage of the outdoors-indoor spaces for civic engagement. The objectives of this paper are threefold: (1) To examine a learning-design partnership in hybrid spaces through community’s engagement; (2) To explore a wide range of creative civic spaces that would foster business start-ups, job opportunities, products, services, and income generation; and (3) To develop a working, learning, and recreational space design concept that is more tactile and outdoor environment-oriented. The primary data was gathered through site observation and participation in the workshops and events at Sentul Park. Limited access to the perimeter of the private areas of Sentul Park became a setback in this study. Thus, the data collected for the inaccessible areas was derived mainly from reports published by the local authority, the site’s developer, and previously published researchers. The three types of retrofitted makerspaces created for education, community, and workplace, which unify the outdoor and indoor spaces, could become a trendsetter and potential platform for future civic engagement in Malaysia. More significant efforts and attention are needed to understand a community’s needs and preferences in the city’s ever-evolving physical and cultural aspect to make makerspaces a new form of civic infrastructure.

Impact of an Arts-based Public Health Literacy Program Delivered Online to High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the domestic socio-political unrest of 2020, provides a critical opportunity to reframe how we engage with youth around health and disease risk. The Bigger Picture (TBP), a spoken word, arts-based public health literacy campaign, uses a social justice and racial equity frame to activate youth around social determinants of health, including salient topics such as type 2 diabetes, COVID-19, climate change, and police violence. This quasi-experimental study determined the impact of providing an online adaptation of TBP during the COVID-19 pandemic to urban, low-income, diverse high school students (3 intervention schools assigned to receive TBP-based spoken word program; 3 comparison schools received a non-health focused spoken word program). We used outcomes derived from the Culture of Health framework, including: (1) health-related mind-sets and expectations; (2) sense of belonging; and (3) civic engagement. Students completed pre/post surveys; a subset of adults and youth from all 6 schools completed semi-structured interviews. TBP participation resulted in measurable shifts in students’ mind-sets around structural drivers of health and health inequity and increases in plans for future civic engagement. Arts-based programming with an intentional focus on the social ecological model and health equity appears to impact young people, even when delivered online.

“Everyone collaborated and came together”: The civic promise (and pitfalls) of yPAR for immigrant-origin students in an era of deportation.

In recent years, increased anti-immigrant hostility has trickled into school settings creating toxic climates for immigrant-origin (I-O) students (Rogers, School and society in the age of trump, 2019, UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access). Through youth participatory action research (yPAR), this study qualitatively examined how a class of Emerging Bilingual (EB) students aimed to promote more inclusive learning environments by designing, implementing, and evaluating a school-wide program. Here, we consider how the students experienced growth in their civic development as well as how they contended with resistances encountered during the project. The current study took place at a majority I-O, northeastern high school and was led by an EB class (n = 20) and its teacher. Participants were as follows: on average 16.5 years; 60% female; and 65% Latinx, 30% Black, and 5% mixed-race (Black-Latino). Multiple data sources documenting the students' experiences were collected (including weekly student reflections and ethnographic field notes) and then thematically analyzed using open coding. Participating students demonstrated civic development as evidenced through: growing confidence that the program could generate positive change; enhanced sense of connection toward their classmates; and increased commitment to future civic engagement. Nonetheless, some participants demonstrated initial trepidation in both disclosing their migration stories as well as the potential efficacy of engaging in the project. Furthermore, others were disappointed by the disinterest displayed by some of their peers and teachers. Collaborative research can support I-O youths' civic development, though, the resistances encountered and engendered illuminate possible challenges to ensure its benefits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Expanding digital citizenship education to address tough issues

Teachers need new instructional strategies and systemwide support to educate students about the threats that racism, hyper-partisanship, and disinformation pose to democracy. Nicole Mirra, Sarah McGrew, Joseph Kahne, Antero Godina Garcia, and Brendesha Tynes explore the three major elements of digital citizenship education — safety and civility, media analysis, and student voice — and introduce evidence-based principles that can deepen teaching and learning about these topics to prepare students for future civic engagement.

Urban Agriculture Education and Youth Civic Engagement in the U.S.: A Scoping Review

Urban agriculture education is increasingly used to foster civic engagement among youth. To better understand empirical research on this topic, we analyzed peer-reviewed journal articles that focus on civic engagement among high-school-age students in urban agriculture education programs in the U.S. Using a scoping review approach, we identified 10 relevant research articles published between 2004 and 2018. These articles show that urban agriculture education programs prepare youth for future civic engagement, including by enhancing their understanding of social justice and community assets, and by building their leadership skills. In addition to promoting skills for future civic engagement, these programs engage youth in current civic actions in their neighborhoods, such as creating community gardens and donating food. Although the long-term effect of these programs on youth is still unclear, analyzed articles offer convincing evidence that urban agriculture education programs can be instrumental in helping youth become involved in addressing social and environmental issues in their communities.

The canned food drive: What do students learn?

PurposeNumerous studies have shown that community service during adolescence is associated with positive youth outcomes and future civic engagement (Reinders and Youniss, 2006; Yates and Youniss, 1996). However, less is known about the ways in which students participate in and perceive intermittent, noncurricular community service. The purpose of this study is to examine seventh and eighth grade students' (N = 22) experiences during a common school-wide community service event: the canned food drive.Design/methodology/approachData include students' journal responses to questions about the food drive including their feelings about the event, learning that took place, positive parts of the drive and challenges. An inductive qualitative analysis was used.FindingsAnalysis of students' responses revealed that most students perceived themselves and their classmates as being very helpful to the community and described feeling happiness and pride from the event, even when participation was minimal or nonexistent. While some students reported awareness of poverty and inequality after the food drive, many of their comments about those receiving the donations included deficit-oriented terminology and cognitive distancing by positioning those experiencing food insecurity as “the other” and different from themselves.Practical implicationsFindings highlight the benefits and shortcomings of community service, as class biases and surface-level ideas about helping may be unintentionally reinforced. Recommendations to address these issues are discussed.Originality/valueGiven the prevalence of community service in schools, qualitative research is needed to understand firsthand how students experience these events.

“It Started With This Project”: A Mixed Methods Examination of a Service Learning Project for Preservice Art Educators

The objective of this study is to better understand preservice art educators’ experiences engaging in a service learning project. The study uses a mixed methods, longitudinal design with data collected through student pre- and posttest surveys and written reflections over 7 years. Findings indicate three themes that describe preservice art educators’ experience of participating in service learning: (1) skill development; (2) breaking down barriers, challenging stereotypes, and building relationships; and (3) plans for future teaching and civic engagement. The qualitative findings lend support to the quantitative findings of improved learning outcomes (e.g., active learning skills, clearer idea of personal goals, more concern about social phenomena, better understanding of stereotypes, and increased likelihood of participation in future civic and volunteer activities) and provide insight into the nuances of student experiences, ultimately leading to recommendations and considerations for future service learning project design.

Adolescents as Coaches during Service-Learning: Teaching Children Social and Emotional Skills

Service-learning provides opportunities for adolescents to foster leadership skills, learn about those in different social circumstances, and enhance civic engagement. This pilot study described the implementation and evaluation of a service-learning project to train adolescents as coaches to teach social and emotional learning to elementary children. Reflection journals were used to document adolescent perceptions of the experience. Twenty-nine female and 16 male high school students participated. Adolescents delivered lessons focusing on emotional expression, learning emotions, and interpersonal problem solving. Adolescents used journals to reflect on their experiences. Coders used qualitative methods to analyze themes in adolescents’ answers to journal questions. Study findings indicated that several of the adolescents gained leadership and teaching skills, learned about children’s lives, and reported personal growth. Relatively more males described being in a teaching role as difficult, and they may require more support during teaching experiences. Keeping children focused and on-task was difficult for some students. However, adolescents reported feeling inspired by participating in the program and their positive influence as mentors for children. Adolescents understood the impact of poverty on children’s lives and some felt inspired and more willing to engage in future service. Adolescents were a valuable workforce as teachers for social and emotional skills for children. This was a summer program, and leaders need to continue to search for ways to incorporate similar character education programming during the school year. Future research should focus on assessment of change in children’s behaviors and future civic engagement of adolescents.

Hong Kong adolescents’ future civic engagement: do protest activities count?

ABSTRACTProtest is a common, if somewhat contested, form of political engagement. Little is known, however, about the decision to participate in illegal protest as a form of civic engagement. Using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009 (ICCS 2009) (Schulz et al. 2010), the current study explored Hong Kong adolescents’ intentions to engage in protest activities. Mixture Rasch modelling was chosen for data analysis. Two latent classes with different participation patterns were identified and labelled ‘Radicals’ and ‘Rationals’. Multilevel logistic regression was used to assess key predictors of group membership. Student-level results indicated that citizenship-efficacy, corruption acceptance and the use of connections were the predictors for inclusion in the Radical group. Parents’ political interests, good student–teacher relationships, positive attitudes to good citizenship, support for gender equality and traditional cultural values predicted membership of the Rational group. School-level results indicated that in less SES advantaged schools, students’ endorsement of illegal protest was higher.

What is meaningful civic engagement for students? Recollections of Jewish and Palestinian graduates in Israel

ABSTRACTThe current study identified factors contributing to the long-term perception of meaningful civic engagement in a sample of Israelis involved in extra-curricular civic-engagement programs as students. Using a qualitative research method supported by quantitative analyses, we found that five to 10 years after completing higher education, most perceived their civic engagement positively. Nevertheless, it was not necessarily perceived as a personal transformative experience which led to future civic engagement. Three major factors that contributed to the establishment of a meaningful experience which lead to long-term commitment were identified: (1) Conceptualizing personal development as embedded in the socio-political context; (2) Experiencing peer-group civic engagement as a place for self-reflection, support, and meaning; (3) Continuity and a sufficient duration of civic engagement to generate a change in the community. Palestinian citizens of Israel reported that civic engagement was more meaningful than Jewish students, who constitute the majority in Israel.

Speaking With Confidence and Listening With Empathy: The Impact of Project Soapbox on High School Students

This case study investigates an action civics curriculum, Project Soapbox, designed to foster key civic outcomes among high school students. Framed by research highlighting profound disparities in civic educational opportunities and the best practices of civic education programs, this article examines the democratic and literacy skills high school students report learning from participation in Project Soapbox. Data include pre- and post-surveys with 204 high school students from 9 public high schools, classroom observations, teacher interviews, student work samples, and student focus group interviews. Findings indicate that students who participated in Project Soapbox reported modest gains in their expectations for future civic engagement and expressed greater confidence in their rhetorical skills. Additionally, although this curriculum is designed to emphasize rhetorical skills and democratic orientations, some of the strongest impact appeared in students’ reports of their listening and empathy skills.

Alienated and disaffected students: exploring the civic capacity of ‘Outsiders’ in Asian societies

As an important group of students, the alienated and disaffected students are often overlooked in more general studies of civic education. Based on data from the International Civics and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2009), the study investigated alienated and disaffected students in Asia and explored the development of their civic attitudes. Student samples from Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand were involved in the study. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify alienated and disaffected students across the five Asian societies, and multilevel multinomial logistic regression (MMLR) was used to explore factors related to group membership. Students’ future civic intentions were analyzed under the framework of Personal Investment Theory (PIT) by multilevel regression. Based on LPA, three groups were identified: the Outsiders, the Moderates, and the Active Participators. The results showed that Outsiders scored lower on all conventional civic values and tended to endorse negative civic behaviors. The results of MMLR showed that boys were more likely to be Outsiders than girls, students’ expected education level, their socio-economic background, and home literacy were negatively related with being in the Outsider group. By combining PIT with multilevel analysis, the study identified that students’ sense of self and facilitating condition accounted for their future civic engagement. Students’ positive attitudes toward traditional culture, morality of politicians, and good citizenship were predictors for conventional civic participation—adult electoral participation and negatively related to their future illegal protest. The study demonstrated the role of traditional values in promoting future civic engagement.

Generative fatherhood and children’s future civic engagement: A conceptual model of the relationship between paternal engagement and child’s developing prosocial skills

ABSTRACTSocio-emotional readiness for civic activities is necessary for young children emerging from their infant-toddler years. Cognitive skills and emotional regulation are essential to learning about one’s society and one’s role in society-at-large. When mothers and fathers are consistently emotionally present in the lives of their children, the children demonstrate prosocial outcomes in cognition, emotional regulation and social behaviors to promote socio-emotional readiness for civic activities or civic readiness. In particular, the presence of one’s father satisfies affiliative needs as the father serves as more a socializer of child to society-at-large. Generative fathering emerges from the concept of “emotional paternity.” When fathers (birth, childrearing or cultural) are physically and emotionally present in the lives of the children on a consistent basis, children are able to demonstrate prosocial outcomes such as higher cognition, increased emotional regulation and improved social behavior. The purpose of this article is to provide a conceptual model on the relationship between paternal engagement in child-focused activities and a young child’s early presentation of prosocial behaviors that serve as building blocks to one’s future civic engagement.

Focus Group Discussions as Sites for Public Deliberation and Sensemaking Following Shared Political Documentary Viewing

This study examines the potential that shared political documentary viewing coupled with public deliberation via focus group discussion has for political sensemaking and civic engagement. Specifically, we examine college students’ perceptions of sensemaking, future civic engagement, and benefits of participating in group discussion following the shared viewing of D’Souza’s political documentary 2016: Obama’s America. Focus group participants reported that engaging in discussion served to clarify, affirm, and reinforce some initial impressions while opening their eyes to new insights and information. Focus group participation triggered a desire to seek out and hear additional diverse points of view and offered participants the opportunity to diffuse negative emotions and reflect upon media content. Participants reported that they enjoyed participating in this form of guided discussion, reported increased confidence in their abilities to engage in public political deliberation, and reported feeling a call to future civic action. Our findings show that political documentary viewing coupled with focus group discussions can be a productive site for public deliberation that can lead to enhanced sensemaking and positive future civic behaviors including intentions to extend discussions to personal networks and to research issues raised in the discussion or documentary. We address implications for deliberative pedagogy and focus groups as public deliberation.