UPDATING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, PART I

[Note:  This posting, the previous posting, and at least the one to follow are a restatement of what has been addressed previously in this blog.  Some of the sentences to come have been provided before but the concern is that other information has been discovered and an update seems appropriate.  The blog has not changed the overall message, that civics education is seriously deficient, but some of the evidence needs updating.]

While a current view of political knowledge among Americans – especially secondary students – seems to have a more nuanced quality, the last posting still made the claim that there are serious deficiencies in that knowledge.  So, generally one can judge that American efforts – primarily through the nation’s civics education program – in imparting political knowledge – or, as it is referred to in current research, civic literacy – has seriously fallen short of being effective. 

How does this lack of knowledge and, one can surmise, understanding of governance and politics affect other aspects of citizenship?  How does it affect civic engagement, social empathy, civility, and law-abiding behavior?  A look at these aspects follows in this posting and, at least, the one to follow.

          Of course, by looking at civic engagement, one is investigating not only the activity, but also how its performance relates to any benefits one derives from that activity and what skills one exhibits in performing those activities.  There are various operational definitions for civic engagement; one of them is offered by Thomas Ehrlich:  “[T]o make a difference in the civic life of our communities … It means promoting the quality of life in a community through both political and non-political processes.”[1]

          As with political knowledge, the level of civic engagement has been affected by the nation’s current political landscape – its issues, concerns, and fears.  Citing the same Pew Research Center study[2] highlighted in the last posting, one gets the same recent uptick in civic engagement that was noted in levels of civic literacy.  This is particularly true if one looks at political engagement, that form of civic engagement most relevant to civics education.

Here is a summary of those findings:

Many Americans participate in politics, either by volunteering for or donating to campaigns, attending protests or meetings, contacting officials or expressing their views on social media.  Overall, a large majority (67%) reports having engaged in at least one of these activities in the past five years; nearly half (46%) say they have done so in the past year alone.

          About four-in-ten Americans (42%) say they have publicly expressed support for a political campaign on social media in the past five years, and 29% say they have done this in the past year.

          Nearly as many (40%) say they have contacted an elected official in the past five years, while 23% have done so in the past year.  Smaller shares – slightly less than a third – report making donations to campaigns (29%), attending local government meetings (29%) or attending political rallies or events (28%) in the past five years.  And 16% say they have worked or volunteered for a political campaign in the past five years (5% in the past year).

          This needs a bit of interpretation.  This writer believes that as a result of the 2016 election, large segments of the citizenry – mostly Democrats, liberals, progressives, socialists, other left-leaning voters, and even many Republicans – were shocked and dismayed by Trump’s election.  They viscerally felt they needed to do something.  So, they chose to participate in the types of activities that can be called political engagement such as attending political meetings.  But time has passed.

          Consequently, Americans’ engagement currently has returned to what it has traditionally been – low levels – and the percentages reflecting more recent behaviors, fall to the twenty percentage point levels and more in line with how Americans engaged politically before 2016.  One should note, the 67% participation rate reported in the above citation includes making comments on social media – an extremely low-cost form of participation.

          Beyond current reportage, as indicated by the earlier cited Pew research, what does that literature describe in terms of other civic engagement?  This account starts with motivation in answering that question.  It has already addressed a viable factor, civic literacy.  One is disposed to engage civically if one harbors higher levels of civic literacy.  

 ISI reports that civic literacy, as a motivator, turns out to be a chief factor in disposing people to be so engaged.[3]  The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) reports that young people with lower levels of political knowledge are less likely to vote.[4]  And on that score, a sobering finding is offered by a Boston Globe editorial:  only one in three Americans can pass the Naturalization Exam non-citizens need to pass to gain citizenship.[5]

          Thom File reports in 2013 that fewer Americans take the time to vote.[6]  To many observers, voting is seen as the bottom-line level of participation or engagement – just a bit more active than expressing political opinions on social media. 

Yet, in the last presidential election, the 2016 election, 58.6% of eligible voters voted (meaning that in this virulent election, 41.4% did not).  In a recent mid-term election, 2014, only 36.4% turned out (again, in 2018, in the middle of this atypical reaction to 2016, that election had a turnout of 49.3% – a sort of record).[7] 

How about other forms of involvement?  Peter Levine and Eric Liu observe that Americans don’t belong to local, community organizations as much or go to community meetings as often as in the past.[8]  This finding echoes what Robert Putnam indicates in his 2000 classic work, Bowling Alone.[9]  Adding to this picture, a national task force found that Americans are also less apt to contact public officials and that young adults (18 to 29 year-olds) have engaged in civic affairs – such as voting and other civic oriented activities – to lesser degrees when measured over the last four decades.[10] 

Scott Keeter, Cliff Zukin, Molly Andolina, and Krista Jenkins offer a set of behaviors that captures the interests associated with civic engagement as it is defined above.  They are civic activities, political voice activities, and electoral activities.[11]  These writers report research that looks at such factors from political attentiveness to political volunteerism and how they are characterized vis-à-vis these broader categories.  Here, below, are some of their summary findings.

          The link between civic literacy and engagement has already been made.  Partially, the link is how knowledge in these interests motivate citizens.  One motivation is to improve, through exercising civic activities, the wellbeing of a citizen’s local community and advancing a citizen’s self-interest.  As such, the range of interest extends from the individual to his/her community and nation.

Civic activities include belonging to civically oriented organizations such as fraternal and religious organizations, volunteer efforts, fundraising efforts for charitable organizations, and other community problem-solving groups.  Of course, civic literacy is further enhanced if the citizen in question participates in those groups’ activities. 

There is more to consider in terms of these other activities.  The next posting will address them by reporting what relevant research indicates Americans’ engagement is in these activities.

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[1] Thomas Ehrlich, Civic Responsibility and Higher Education (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000), vi.

[2] “Political Engagement, Knowledge and the Midterms,” Pew Research Center, April 26, 2018, accessed April 8, 2019, https://www.people-press.org/2018/04/26/10-political-engagement-knowledge-and-the-midterms/ .  The factual information provided in this posting is derived from this source.

[3] Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Enlightened Citizenship: How Civic Knowledge Trumps a College Degree in Promoting Active Civic Engagement.

[4] Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, “Fact Sheet: What Do Young Adults Know about Politics? Evidence from a National Survey Conducted after the 2012 Election,”  2013, accessed May 15, 2018, https://civicyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/What-Young-Adults-Know-Fact-Sheet-20131.pdf .  Note:  this cite attempts to put a positive spin on knowledge levels of young adults, but reviewing its results, one can judge this positivity as questionable.

[5] “‘Americans’ Grasp on Civic Knowledge Is shaky at Best, Study Finds” (editorial), Boston Globe.

[6] Thom File, Young-Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964–2012 (Current Population Survey Reports, P20-572) (Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013).

[7] Emily Stewart, “2018’s Record-Setting Voter Turnout, in One Chart,” Vox, November 19, 2018, accessed April 12, 2019, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/19/18103110/2018-midterm-elections-turnout .

[8] Peter Levine and Eric Liu,  “America’s Civic Renewal Movement: A View from Organizational Leaders (Medford, MA:  Tufts Report, Tufts University, 2015).

[9] Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

[10] The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, “A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future” (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2012), accessed May 7, 2018, http:// www.aacu.org/civiclearning/crucible .

[11] Scott Keeter, Cliff Zukin, Molly Jenkins, and Krista Jenkins, “The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Portrait,” Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), accessed on May 10, 2018, https://www.unc.edu/courses/2009ss1/poli/472/001/472%20Summer%2009%20course%20CD/Summer%202009%20Readings/Week%205/Civic_Political_Health%5B1%5D.pdf .