The Role of Sociopolitical Attitudes and Civic Education in the Civic Engagement of Black Youth

Abstract

Civic engagement is important for individual and community well-being. In the current study, we use survey data from a nationally representative sample to examine how sociopolitical attitudes, such as political cynicism, perceptions of institutional discrimination, and political efficacy, along with civic education relate to civic engagement among 593 Black youth, ages 15-25. We found perceived institutional discrimination, political efficacy, and civic education were associated with civic engagement, while political cynicism was not. There is evidence to suggest civic education may strengthen the association between perceived institutional discrimination and civic engagement. The present findings contribute to our understanding of how acknowledging systemic inequity promotes civic engagement among Black youth. Findings are discussed in terms of study limitations and future research directions.

Diverging Paths: Understanding Racial Differences in Civic Engagement Among White, African American, and Latina/o Adolescents Using Structural Equation Modeling

“…Using structural equation modeling, Flanagan et al (2007), found that African American, Arab American, Latina/o, and European American youth all had similar relationships between their perception of their school's democratic climate and level of civic commitment. Hope and Jagers (2014) found that exposure to civic education was related to African American youths' civic participation, a finding similar to those found in studies with predominantly White samples (Bachner, 2010;Campbell, 2008).…”

“…The findings from the study partially support the claims made by other researchers that pathways to civic engagement vary by racial/ethnic background and that models of civic engagements structured around White experiences may not be as applicable for youth of color (Ginwright & Cammarota, 2002;Hope & Jagers, 2014;Kirshner et al, 2003;Rubin, 2012;Shiller, 2013). For educators interested in promoting youth civic engagement among youth of color this suggests that schools should recognize students' different racial/ethnic identities when discussing civic participation.…”

“…For example, Christens and Peterson (2012) studying a sample of predominantly youth of color observed that attitudes of socio-political control, which is related to civic self-efficacy, were strongly correlated with students sense of social support within their community. Another study found that African American youth who had higher levels of perceived institutional discrimination were more likely to have higher levels of civic engagement (Hope & Jagers, 2014).…”

“…Giving students an opportunity to participate in democratic practices such as researching an issue in their community or developing a community action plan may offer these students civic tools to challenge this systematic racism, what Ginwright and Cammarota (2007) refer to as "critical civic praxis." These activities raise students critical consciousness about the structural racism they face in their everyday lives and, importantly, offer them a pathway for challenging this system through political activism (Ginwright, 2011;Hope & Jagers, 2014). As a result, these students become more invested in obtaining civic knowledge and have higher degrees of civic self-efficacy.…”

20201218

“…This has resulted in a paradigm shift from a deficit model to a strength-based model and growth of positive youth development. Researchers are exploring developmental assets among young people (e.g., Tolan, 2014;Hope & Jagers, 2014), as well as ethnic and racial adaptations of positive youth development approaches (e.g., Travis & Leech, 2014). In addition, research on varying forms of intervention, such as activity-based mentoring (Deane & Harré, 2014) and developmental-stage-specific intervention (Vuolo, Mortimer, & Staff, 2014) are charting pathways to more effectively implement research findings with young people.…”