CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement)
conducts research on the civic and political engagement of young Americans.
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement

Special Reports and Books

CIRCLE’s Special Reports provide in-depth analysis on a particular issue in the field of civic engagement

RSSSpecial Reports and Books

Civic Education and Deeper Learning

On February 5, Jobs for the Future (JFF) a national nonprofit that advocates for all youth to gain the skills they need to succeed in the economy, released a paper entitled “Civic Education and Deeper Learning” by CIRCLE Director Peter Levine and Deputy Director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg. This paper was funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Read More >

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February 5th, 2015
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“Millennials” Play a Central Role in our Nation’s Civic Health, but Who are They?

Major New Study Provides In-Depth Insight on Diverse Engagement of a Generation Washington, DC– The Millennials Civic Health Index, released today by four of the top civic organizations in the country, paints a comprehensive picture of young Americans 18 to 29.  The study challenges commonly held beliefs about a generation of young Americans whose votes Read More >

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February 6th, 2013
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New Book: Melissa Bass, The Politics and Civics of National Service: Lessons from the Civilian Conversation Corps, VISTA, and AmeriCorps

Melissa Bass has published The Politics and Civics of National Service: Lessons from the Civilian Conversation Corps, VISTA, and AmeriCorps (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2013). This book originated with a CIRCLE grant and two CIRCLE Working Papers (numbers 11 and 12). It is a great achievement and truly essential reading for anyone who is Read More >

January 30th, 2013
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Knowledge about Voter Laws Still Lacking

Over 40% of young Americans “don’t know” key information about voting process On Monday, CIRCLE released a groundbreaking poll of young people’s views of the election. The survey, commissioned by the Youth Education Fund, is unique in that it polled 1,695 youth (ages 18-29) in June/July and 1,109 of the same youth between October 12 Read More >

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October 30th, 2012
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YOUNG VOTERS AND THE HORSERACE: 52.1% Obama v. 35.1% Romney

In Three Months, Intention to Vote Rises 9.9  Points CIRCLE today released a groundbreaking poll of young people’s views of the election. The survey, commissioned by the Youth Education Fund, is unique in that it polled 1,695 youth (ages 18-29) in June/July and 1,109 of the same youth between October 12 and 23. Surveying the Read More >

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October 29th, 2012
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Tonight at 6pm ET on Huffington Post Live: CIRCLE & partners talk about new research connecting civic, economic health

This evening at 6pm Eastern Time, CIRCLE’s director, Peter Levine, will participate in a livestreamed panel on Huffington Post Live. Peter and partners from NCOC and the Knight Foundation, will discuss new research on the relationship between civic engagement and economic resilience. This new research builds on previous analysis showing that relative rates of engagement Read More >

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September 13th, 2012
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Civic Health and Unemployment II: The Case Builds

The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) released Civic Health and Unemployment II: The Case Builds today, written by CIRCLE lead researcher Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, University of Wisconsin Professor Chaeyoon Lim, and CIRCLE Director Peter Levine. This is a more extensive and ambitious follow-up to the report entitled Civic Health and Unemployment: Can Engagement Strengthen the Economy? Read More >

September 12th, 2012
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“That’s Not Democracy.” How Out-of-School Youth Engage in Civic Life and What Stands in Their Way

CIRCLE is releasing a major new study today, “That’s Not Democracy.” How Out-of-School Youth Engage in Civic Life and What Stands in Their Way. Many practitioners informed this project, which was in collaboration with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Executive Summary |  Full Report A vibrant and thriving democracy requires a deeply engaged and active citizenry. “Civic Read More >

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August 23rd, 2012
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New Book: Making Civics Count

Making Civics Count: Citizenship Education for a New Generation is a book co-edited by David E. Campbell, Meira Levinson, and Frederick M. Hess. CIRCLE director Peter Levine contributes a chapter entitled “Education for a Civil Society”; he argues that American schools already teach the formal US system of government reasonably well, but we need youth Read More >

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August 16th, 2012
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A Midwestern Mosaic: Immigration and Political Socialization in Rural America

J. Celeste Lay of Tulane University has published A Midwestern Mosaic: Immigration and Political Socialization in Rural America (Temple University Press, 2012). This book originated with a CIRCLE dissertation grant in 2003-4. It examines the impact of rapid ethnic diversification in small Iowa towns on two main sets of outcomes for adolescents – tolerance for Read More >

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July 3rd, 2012
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Distributed Today at the White House: CIRCLE Study Shows YouthBuild Builds Leaders

A major new study by CIRCLE, Pathways into Leadership: A Study of YouthBuild Graduates, shows that a significant number of YouthBuild graduates go on to become leaders in their careers and communities. Many of them hold public office or are church officials. More than one-third of the students surveyed for the study have become professional Read More >

June 4th, 2012
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No Citizen Left Behind

Meira Levinson’s book No Citizen Left Behind (Harvard University Press, 2012) began with a CIRCLE grant and develops the argument of Levinson’s CIRCLE Working Paper 51, ” The Civic Achievement Gap.” Levinson combines anecdotes from her eight years of teaching middle school in Atlanta and Boston, political theorizing, and social science analysis.  She argues that Read More >

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April 23rd, 2012
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FEATURED: New Study Dispels Stereotypes About Young Voters Ahead of 2012 Elections

A new CIRCLE study, “Understanding a Diverse Generation: Youth Civic Engagement in the United States,” shatters stereotypes and dispels conventional myths about the ways in which young people ages 18-29 are involved in the United States political system. The study from CIRCLE, which is part of Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Read More >

November 21st, 2011
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Civic Health and Unemployment: Can Engagement Strengthen the Economy?

Released today at the 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship in Philadelphia is a new report entitled Civic Health and Unemployment:  Can Engagement Strengthen the Economy? CIRCLE is a co-sponsor of the report and played an important role in conducting the analysis. The report finds that levels of civic engagement in 2006 and 2008 strongly Read More >

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September 16th, 2011
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Guardian of Democracy: Successor Report to the Civic Mission of Schools

In 2003, CIRCLE and Carnegie Corporation of New York jointly produced an important report entitled The Civic Mission of Schools that was widely covered in the press and launched the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the nation’s leading advocacy campaign in civics. Today, the Campaign has issued a successor report (to which CIRCLE Read More >

September 15th, 2011
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Featured: Five Strategies to Revive Civic Communication

Civic Engagement and Community Information: Five Strategies to Revive Civic Communication, is a new policy paper by CIRCLE Director, Peter Levine.  It was released on June 10, 2011 in Chicago at a high-level roundtable discussion.  The report calls on community and elected leaders to adopt sensible strategies to strengthen civic communication and citizen engagement. The Read More >

June 10th, 2011
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Civic Skills and Federal Policy

On April 29, 2010, scholars, civic leaders, and federal officials met in Washington to develop a federal policy agenda for civic skills. The conference was convened by CIRCLE at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. It was co-sponsored by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and Strengthening Our Read More >

December 15th, 2010
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New book: Handbook of Research on Civic Engagement and Youth

Broad in its coverage of topics, this book supports scholars, philanthropists, business leaders, government officials, teachers, parents, and community practitioners in their drive to engage more young people in community and civic actions. Thirteen of the authors are present or former CIRCLE grantees, board members, or staff. Download the article here.

October 19th, 2010
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The Civic Mission of Schools: A Review of the Research

In February of 2003, Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE issued a major report on the state of K-12 civic education, The Civic Mission of Schools (CMS). Seven years later, the report continues to inspire a well defined research agenda and an advocacy campaign by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and Read More >

April 19th, 2010
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National Conference on Citizenship 2009 Civic Health Index finds civic engagement under stress in the recession

The National Conference on Citizenship has released its annual Civic Health Index report for 2009, entitled Civic Health in Hard Times (pdf). As in past years, CIRCLE contributed to the design and analysis of the national survey that was the basis of the study and helped with the writing of the report. In addition to Read More >

September 2nd, 2009
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The Millennial Pendulum

February 18, 2009 CIRCLE Director Peter Levine, along with Constance Flanagan and Les Gallay of Penn State University, authored a new report “The Millennial Pendulum: A New Generation of Voters and the Prospects for a Political Realignment.”  The report was funded by the New American Foundation and was officially announced at an event on February Read More >

February 17th, 2009
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Civic Engagement and the Changing Transition to Adulthood

January 2009 CIRCLE releases a new paper by Constance Flanagan, Peter Levine, and Richard Settersten entitled “Civic Engagement and the Changing Transition to Adulthood” (PDF). This study, funded by the Spencer Foundation, argues that life has changed dramatically for people in their 20s. Marriage, childbearing, financial independence, and other aspects of the “transition to adulthoood” Read More >

January 21st, 2009
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The k-12 Curriculum in the Era of NCLB

December 2008 Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Medford, MA: Despite public belief to the contrary, schools are not shifting away from teaching social studies, liberal arts, and sciences directly because of the pressures of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), according to a new study released by Tisch College’s Center for Information Read More >

December 8th, 2008
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Millennials Talk Politics: A Study of College Student Political Participation

November 7, 2007 College students in the United States are hungry for political conversation that is authentic, involves diverse views and is free of manipulation and “spin,” according to Millennials Talk Politics, a new report released on November 7th, 2007 by CIRCLE and The Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Nearly 400 students convened in 47 focus Read More >

November 7th, 2007
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New book: The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation of American Citizens

The Future of Democracy: Developing the Next Generation of American Citizens is a manifesto for youth civic engagement, based on a critical review of recent research. The book is written by Peter Levine, the Director of CIRCLE, but draws on the work and research of CIRCLE staff, grantees, and advisory board, among others. All proceeds Read More >

July 1st, 2007
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Special Report: Higher Education: Civic Mission & Civic Effects

by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and CIRCLE March 2006 The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and CIRCLE jointly release a consensus report by 22 scholars that explores the civic effects of attending college and the benefits of various approaches to civic learning in higher education. The authors represent the Read More >

March 15th, 2006
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Special Report: OMG! How Generation Y Is Redefining Faith in the iPod Era

by Anna Greenberg April 2005 “OMG! How Generation Y Is Redefining Faith in the iPod Era” presents data from an nationwide survey of 18-25 year olds from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations, including youth who do not identify themselves with a religion. The reports finds that young people overwhelmingly demonstrated their openness Read More >

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April 11th, 2005
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Sending the right messages: How comunities shape young people’s attitudes towards politics

Cultivating Democracy, a new book supported by CIRCLE, chronicles the political socialization process of over 3,000 high school students from 29 economically, politically, and demographically diverse communities in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Written by James Gimpel, J. Celeste Lay, and Jason E. Schuknecht, the book offers a new framework for understanding how young people Read More >

December 19th, 2004
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Special Report: The Fountain of Youth: Political Parties and the Mobilization of Young Americans

by Daniel M. Shea and John C. Green October 2004 The Fountain of Youth: Political Parties and the Mobilization of Young Americans, details the most successful efforts by political parties to mobilize the youth vote at the national, state, and county levels. The report is the second of two reports by CIRCLE grantees, Dr. Daniel Read More >

October 7th, 2004
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Special Report: Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation

by Kathryn Montgomery, Barbara Gottlieb-Robles, and Gary O. Larson March 2004 “Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation” maps the online political and civic activities of Generation Y and documents youth involvement on the Web. According to the report, an online youth civic culture, largely unnoticed by the general public, has taken root on the Read More >

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March 23rd, 2004
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Special Report: The 2002 Civic and Political Health of the Nation

by Scott Keeter, Cliff Zukin, Molly Andolina, and Krista Jenkins September 2002 This study analyzes two comprehensive surveys of the nation’s civic and political behavior — from voting to volunteering — and chronicles the differences among four separate generations (“DotNets”, “Generation X”, “Baby Boomers”, and “Matures”). Download Special Report: The 2002 Civic and Political Health Read More >

September 19th, 2002
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Special Report: Short-Term Impacts, Long-Term Opportunities

by CIRCLE and The Center for Democracy & Citizenship and The Partnership for Trust in Government at the Council for Excellence in Government March 2002 CIRCLE, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship and the Partnership for Trust in Government at the Council for Excellence in Government, released a survey of 1,500 Americans Read More >

March 2nd, 2002
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