Civic Education and Democratic Backsliding in the Wake of Kenya's Post-2007 Election Violence

Finkel, Steven E.; Horowitz, Jeremy

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1659381

Cited by 12 publications

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“…Brilliant, )—and assess whether the programmes had knowledge‐related, attitudinal, or behavioural impacts on the programmes' participants. Over the past decade, USAID‐sponsored studies using more advanced evaluation methodologies were conducted in three additional settings: an evaluation of the Kenya National Civic Education Programme (NCEP I) from 2001 to 2002, a programme consisting of some 50 000 civic education activities nationwide related to constitutional reform, rights awareness, and support for democratic values in the run‐up to the 2002 national elections (Finkel, ; Finkel and Smith, ); an evaluation of the similar Kenya NCEP II (‘Uraia’) programme conducted in the run‐up to the disputed 2007 election that triggered massive ethnic violence in its wake (Finkel et al ., ); and an evaluation of the 2010–2011 Voter Opinion and Involvement through Civic Education ( VOICE ) programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which focused on informing the public about the country's political decentralization process and related issues in democratic development (Finkel, )…”

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The Impact of Adult Civic Education Programmes in Developing Democracies

Finkel

2014

Public Admin & Development

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SUMMARYAre individuals in emerging democracies more likely to embrace democratic values, to learn basic knowledge about political processes, and to engage in politics in response to donor-sponsored civic education programmes? After more than a decade of civic education evaluations, it is a good time to take stock of what we have learned about the impacts of these efforts to strengthen democratic political culture in developing democracies. This article describes four US Agency for International Development-sponsored evaluations that have been conducted since the late 1990s, summarizes their most important findings, and discusses the lessons learned. I show that civic education can have meaningful and relatively long-lasting effects in terms of increasing political information, increasing feelings of empowerment, and mobilizing individuals, even in contexts beset by political and ethnic violence. However, these interventions are much less likely to affect 'deep-seated' democratic values such as political tolerance, support, and trust. Moreover, the size of the effects depends critically on how the programmes are designed, the kinds of pedagogical methods employed, and the quality of the trainers. I conclude with a discussion of current developments in the field.

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confidence: 99%

The Impact of Adult Civic Education Programmes in Developing Democracies

Finkel

2014

Public Admin & Development

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“… 1 In Africa, experimental information campaigns increased election turnout and reduced violence (Collier and Vicente 2011; Wantchekon and Vermeersch 2011). Studies of civic education programs also found durable changes in knowledge and (in some cases) civic behavior and violence (Finkel, Horowitz, and Rojo-Mendoza 2012; Finkel and Smith 2011). In Rwanda, radio dramas modeling cooperative behavior improved conflict resolution and deliberation.…”

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How to Promote Order and Property Rights under Weak Rule of Law? An Experiment in Changing Dispute Resolution Behavior through Community Education

2014

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D ispute resolution institutions facilitate agreements and preserve the peace whenever property rights are imperfect. In weak states, strengthening formal institutions can take decades, and so state and aid interventions also try to shape informal practices and norms governing disputes. Their goal is to improve bargaining and commitment, thus limiting disputes and violence. Mass education campaigns that promote alternative dispute resolution (ADR) are common examples of these interventions. We studied the short-term impacts of one such campaign in Liberia, where property disputes are endemic. Residents of 86 of 246 towns randomly received training in ADR practices and norms; this training reached 15% of adults. One year later, treated towns had higher resolution of land disputes and lower violence. Impacts spilled over to untrained residents. We also saw unintended consequences: more extrajudicial punishment and (weakly) more nonviolent disagreements. Results imply that mass education can change high-stakes behaviors, and improving informal bargaining and enforcement behavior can promote order in weak states.

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“…S jedne strane, pokazuje se da pohađanje nekog oblika građanskog vaspitanja gotovo bez izuzetka vodi uvećanju nivoa političkog znanja. Takav nalaz se pojavljuje u analizama iz raznih delova sveta, u analizi primene različitih tipova kurseva građanskog vaspitanja i uz različit način konceptualizacije i merenja samog političkog znanja (Denver & Hands, 1990;Finkel & Ernst, 2005;Finkel et al, 2012;Ichilov, 2007;Meirick & Wackman, 2004;Torney-Purta et al, 2001). Ako su zadovoljeni neki drugi uslovi, čini se da takvi kursevi predstavljaju "glavni pozitivni uticaj na znanje učenika ... važniji od individualne motivacije i porodične socijalizacije i bez obzira na njih" (Niemi & Junn, 1998, str.…”

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“…I nivoi različitih oblika političke participacije viši su među mladima koji pohađaju takve kurseve. To važi kako za neke pasivnoposmatračke oblike aktivnosti, poput praćenja političkih informacija u medijima ili diskutovanja o politici (Denver & Hands, 1990;Finkel, 2003), tako i za neke aktivnije forme, poput spremnosti za glasanje ili učešća u politici na lokalnom nivou (Finkel et al, 2012;Torney-Purta et al, 2001).…”

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“…Prodemokratska uverenja su, s druge strane, manje podložna promenama pod uticajem takvih kurseva. Studije u kojima su, u tom smislu, utvrđene neke značajne razlike između učenika koji pohađaju građansko vaspitanje i onih koji ga ne pohađaju govore o slabim efektima na ograničen broj orijentacija, poput osećaja političke efikasnosti ili izraženosti političkog cinizma (Denver & Hands, 1990;Finkel & Ernst, 2005;Finkel et al, 2012;Niemi & Junn, 1998). Preciznije rečeno, i neke opštije orijentacije evaluativnog tipa mogu biti promenjene, ali samo pod odgovarajućim uslovima.…”

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Civic education attendance as a factor of youth political knowledge, pro-democratic beliefs and political activism

Pavlović¹

2012

Psihol istra

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Odeljenje za psihologiju, Filozofski fakultet Univerzitet u Beogradu Apstrakt. Predmet rada je analiza relativne važnosti nastave građanskog vaspitanja kao činioca nekih političkih orijentacija. Analizirana je značajnost (ne)pohađanja građanskog vaspitanja kao jednog od prediktora političkog znanja, političke efikasnosti, političke tolerancije, političkog aktivizma i odnosa prema demokratskom sistemu. Istraživanje anketnog tipa sprovedeno je u 25 srednjih škola s teritorije grada Beograda, na uzorku od 788 učenika četvrtog razreda. Rezultati analize ukazuju na to da je (ne)pohađanje građanskog vaspitanja najznačajniji prediktor uopštenog odnosa prema demokratskom političkom sistemu, dok u svim ostalim slučajevima nema značajnih razlika između učenika koji pohađaju ovaj predmet i onih koji ga ne pohađaju. U zaključnom delu diskutuju se neka ograničenja nastave građanskog vaspitanja, kao i značaj šireg školskog i društvenog konteksta za ostvarivanje propagiranih obrazovnih ciljeva.

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Civic Education and Democratic Backsliding in the Wake of Kenya's Post-2007 Election Violence

Cited by 12 publications

References 22 publications

The Impact of Adult Civic Education Programmes in Developing Democracies

The Impact of Adult Civic Education Programmes in Developing Democracies

How to Promote Order and Property Rights under Weak Rule of Law? An Experiment in Changing Dispute Resolution Behavior through Community Education

Civic education attendance as a factor of youth political knowledge, pro-democratic beliefs and political activism

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