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

Working Papers - Community Participation

In-depth analysis on a particular issue in the field of civic engagement can be found in CIRCLE’s working papers.

RSSWorking Papers - Community Participation

FEATURED: The Engaged Citizen Index: Examining the Racial and Ethnic Civic and Political Engagement Gaps of Young Adults

By Rebecca Jacobsen and Tamara Wilder Linkow February 2012 In CIRCLE Working Paper 74, Rebecca Jacobsen and Tamara Wilder Linkow construct a composite index of engaged citizenship indicators for young adults that incorporates 40 variables weighted according to the input of a panel of experts. The resulting Engaged Citizen Index reveals significant racial and ethnic Read More >

February 23rd, 2012
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FEATURED: Civic Engagement and Educational Progress in Young Adulthood

by Andrea Finlay and Connie Flanagan September 2009 In CIRCLE working paper (#67) and factsheet “Civic Engagement and Educational Progress in Young Adulthood”, the authors find that young adults (those between the ages of 16 and 30 at baseline) who make academic progress over a four-year period are also more likely to participate in civic Read More >

September 21st, 2009
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New CIRCLE Working Papers on Underrepresented Groups in Volunteer Service

December 2008 CIRCLE releases two new working papers on underrepresented groups in volunteer service. The papers were commissioned by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Click on the paper titles below to download. A summary of the research follows. * CIRCLE Working Paper 62 “Do Race, Ethnicity, Citizenship and Socio-economic Status Determine Civic-Engagement?” * Read More >

December 17th, 2008
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Working Paper 55: Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement

by Constance A. Flanagan, Amy K. Syversten, and Michael D. Stout May 2007 “The goal of this project was to produce a set of civic measures with good psychometric properties that are appropriate for use with young people ages 12-18. These measures tap aspects of adolescents civic behaviors, opinions, knowledge, and dispositions. These measures are Read More >

May 29th, 2007
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Working Paper 53: Do Gender and Ethnicity Affect Civic Engagement and Academic Progress?

[Part II of An Assessment of Civic Engagement and High School Academic Progress] by Alberto Davila and Marie T. Mora January 2007 “Using panel data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), we first analyze how civic engagement (measured in terms of community service and participation in student government) undertaken at the high Read More >

January 31st, 2007
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Working Paper 52: Civic Engagement and High School Academic Progress: An Analysis Using NELS Data

[Part I of An Assessment of Civic Engagement and High School Academic Progress] by Alberto Davila and Marie T. Mora January 2007 “Using panel data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), this study empirically analyzes the relationship between two forms of civic engagement—student government and community service—and educational progress made after the Read More >

January 21st, 2007
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Working Paper 50: Civil Rights Activists in the Information Age: The Development of Math Literacy Workers

by Roderick J. Watts and Omar Guessous October 2006 “This is the final report of an evaluation research projects completed with and on the Young People’s Project in Chicago. The mission of the Young People’s Project (YPP) is to “organize young people to work to radically change their education, and the way they relate to Read More >

October 31st, 2006
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Working Paper 46: College Students and Politics: A Literature Review

by Nicholas V. Longo and Ross P. Meyer May 2006 “In this review, we hope to provide a deeper understanding of current college students’ conceptions of and participation in politics through a review of the scholarly literature. We hope that this review will help us refine our research questions and ultimately lead to a larger Read More >

May 31st, 2006
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Working Paper 45: Youth Civic Engagement: An Institutional Turn

by Peter Levine and James Youniss February 2006 “The papers in this collection were written by an interdisciplinary group to address two main questions: What conditions deter young people’s involvement in politics and civic life? What reforms could enhance youth engagement? Most of the contributors met face-to-face in Washington, DC in March 2005 to discuss Read More >

March 19th, 2006
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Working Paper 43: Measuring Volunteering: A Behavioral Approach

by Chris Toppe December 2005 “This article presents the results of studying two different forms of probing about volunteering. One is the standard perceptual approach used by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in which respondents are asked if they volunteer. The other is an experimental approach that uses behavioral prompts in which respondents Read More >

December 31st, 2005
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Working Paper 41: Gender and Civic Engagement: Secondary Analysis of Survey Data

by Krista Jenkins June 2005 “The NCES represents the best survey in recent years to examine rates and types of activism among both young women and men. It is rich with questions about a variety of ways people can influence politics and their communities. These range from activities designed to influence the formal political process, Read More >

September 3rd, 2005
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Working Paper 40: The Changing Lifeworld of Young People: Risk, Resume-Padding, and Civic Engagement

by Lewis A. Friedland and Shauna Morimoto September 2005 “Young people become engaged in civic life for many different reasons, and via multiple paths. Much research on the reasons for youth civic engagement has been cross-sectional, searching for antecedents to a range of “pro-civic” attitudes or behaviors. This research assumes a relatively stable lifeworld for Read More >

September 2nd, 2005
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Working Paper 33: The Impact of Participation in Service-Learning on High School Students’ Civic Engagement

by Shelley Billig, Sue Root, and Dan Jesse May 2005 “This study compared more than 1,000 high school students who participated in service-learning programs with those who did not participate in schools matched for similar demographics and student achievement profiles. The intention was to estimate the effects of service-learning compared to more traditional ways of Read More >

May 31st, 2005
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Working Paper 31: Youth Civic Engagement: Systems Change and Culture Change in Hampton, Virginia

by Carmen Sirianni April 2005 “Hampton provides the most ambitious case to date to institutionalize youth civic engagement across the city in ways that have much in common with these other models. None, of course, is without its problems, and much needs to be done in the coming years to make these systems more robust. Read More >

April 2nd, 2005
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Working Paper 23: A Comparative Analysis of Community Youth Development Strategies

by Michell Alberti Gambone, Hanh Cao Yu, Heather Lewis-Charp, Cynthia L. Sipe, and Johanna Lacoe October 2004 “Many youth-serving organizations are engaging young people in youth organizing and/or in interventions to support specific identity development in response to a need for meaningful opportunities for older and diverse youth to be civically involved in their communities. Read More >

October 31st, 2004
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Working Paper 11: National Service in America: Policy (Dis)Connections Over Time

by Melissa Bass October 2003 “In this paper I trace the development of three of America’s main civilian national service programs – the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (1933-42), Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) (1965-93, when it was incorporated into AmeriCorps), and AmeriCorps (1993-present).” Download here (PDF).

October 31st, 2003
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