Community Service and Voting Among Veterans and Nonveterans Using a National Sample of College Undergraduates

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Military Service ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
Student Aid ◽  
Civic Involvement ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Postsecondary Student ◽  
Veteran Students

Research studies have shown an association between military service and later civic involvement, largely defined as political activities. The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study 2008 ( N = 95,650) was used to compare veteran and nonveteran students on community service activities and voting. Proportionately more nonveteran than veteran students reported community service (i.e., working with children both in educational and noneducational settings and fund-raising). Nonveteran students also were more likely to have participated in community service in last 12 months. The two groups did not differ in average hours spent on community service per month (16 hr). Veterans compared to nonveterans were far more likely to have registered to vote (78% vs. 59%) and to have voted (90% vs. 82%). When gender, age, race, and income were considered in comparisons, previous differences were not statistically different. Results are discussed relative to past proposals and research regarding veterans’ civic engagement.

Patterns of Civic and Political Commitment in Early Adolescence

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Loreto Martínez ◽  
Patricio Cumsille ◽  
Ignacio Loyola ◽  
Juan Carlos Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Class Model ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Status ◽  
Social Causes

Interest in understanding how civic engagement emerges has been fueled by worries about the decline of youth participation in conventional political activities. Acknowledging the developmental nature of civic engagement, this study analyzes involvement in civic activities during early adolescence. We used latent class analysis to identify patterns of participation in a representative sample of Chilean adolescents. A four-class model was highlighted by two contrasting classes: an involved class, with high probabilities of participation, and an uninvolved class, with low probabilities of participation. A third class— volunteers—mostly participates in organizations involved in community service, religious or social causes. This type of participation conforms to the preservation of the status quo, in contrast to a more political or activist form of participation that challenges it. Classes were partially invariant by gender and socioeconomic status. Females were more prevalent in the involved class, and males in the uninvolved class. Adolescents’ interest in politics, discussion of political issues, citizenship self-efficacy, and school involvement were associated with higher odds of belonging to the involved class.

scholarly journals Bowling with Veterans: The Impact of Military Service on Subsequent Civic Engagement

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Bourg
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Civic Involvement ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
Civic Values ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Civic Activity ◽  
Volunteer Force ◽  
The Impact

From Tocqueville to Putnam, scholars have argued that civic engagement is not only the key to a healthy democracy, but also that civic engagement begats more civic engagement. In this paper I examine the effects of military service on subsequent civic engagement. The key finding is that men who served in the US military prior to the advent of All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in 1973 are actually less civically engaged than those who never served. Military service has no significant effect on civic attitudes. These findings represent an especially powerful challenge to the notion that civic participation begets more civic participation. The fact that serving the citizenry through military duty actually decreases one’s subsequent civic involvement indicates that we cannot assume that all forms of civic activity are equally effective at inculcating their participants with civic values and habits. In fact, these findings indicate a need for a more refined conceptualization of the relationships between civic activity and future civic involvement.

scholarly journals Effect of HOBY Leadership Seminar on Self-Reported Psychosocial Outcomes in Adolescents

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-133
Author(s):  
Andy Harris ◽  
Troy E. Beckert
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Youth Leadership ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Moral Ideal ◽  
Cognitive Autonomy ◽  
Positive Feelings

Civic engagement is important for the positive development of adolescents. As such, many youth development programs promote civic engagement, particularly community service and volunteerism. This report is a program evaluation of a youth leadership seminar that seeks to empower adolescents to engage in community service. Using a pre to post mixed-methods design, we evaluated 114 adolescent participants on several psychosocial outcomes. Findings indicated that participants experienced positive change that was consistent with program goals. Quantitative findings demonstrated self-reported increases in areas of cognitive autonomy, moral ideal and social responsibility. Qualitative findings included the important themes of an increased desire to volunteer, confidence, and positive feelings towards self. Implications of these findings and future directions are also discussed.

Student Acceptance of a Civic Engagement Graduation Requirement in an Urban Community College

2018 ◽  
pp. 40-62
Author(s):  
Christopher Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Urban Community ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Graduation Requirement ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Residency Status ◽  
Time Availability ◽  
Urban Community College

Civic engagement is an essential part of a democratic society, though it has recently tended toward adversarial political conflict. Although many college administrators favor encouraging or requiring student civic engagement, little is known about whether students themselves would support this, and how student characteristics are related to acceptance. Past and present civic activities of 2,327 students at a large, very diverse urban community college were surveyed using the newly developed KCC Civic Engagement Scale. Results showed strong agreement that the college had a responsibility to develop civically engaged students, but that the term “civic engagement” is unclear to many. Principal components analysis revealed four distinct factors: general non-political civic engagement, and low-effort, high-effort, and unconventional political activities. Level of student participation in various activities is primarily determined by a student's time availability and secondarily by a complex assortment of personal characteristics, including residency status.

scholarly journals Growing Social Inequalities in Youth Civic Engagement? Evidence from the National Election Study

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (03) ◽  
pp. 456-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Wray-Lake ◽  
Daniel Hart
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
National Election ◽  
Election Study ◽  
Youth Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
National Election Study ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Over Time

AbstractSocial class differences in civic engagement persist for both youth and adults. Although empirical evidence is mixed, several recent social changes pertaining to youth suggest that social inequalities in civic engagement may be growing over time for young people. Using data from the National Election Study, we compared trends for youth and older adults of varying education levels and tested the hypothesis of an increasing educational disparity in youth political participation. Results for voting supported our expectations: declines over time were found for less-educated youth only. Unexpectedly, participation in other political activities for more-educated youth declined more over time compared to other groups. Our findings highlight the need to create equal opportunities for youth civic engagement across social groups.

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