by Shanto Iyengar and Simon Jackman

December 2004

“The question of potential “treatments” for the problem of politically disengaged youth has attracted considerable attention. Much of the literature focuses on civic education and efforts to make the curricula more “hands-on.” The most recent nationwide evidence suggests that civics courses do impart information and foster development of attitudes known to encourage participation. An important innovation to classroom-based civic learning extends the curriculum to the community. Some have argued that participation in non-political community service programs can be a catalyst for the development of pro-social and participant orientations. Yet, it is clear that the gains from near-universal exposure to civic education are insufficient to get young voters to the polls.”

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