Required civics courses, civics exams, and voter turnout

Bibliographic Data

ID12007673
AuthorsJason Giersch (0000-0002-0462-9477, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC, 29223, USA, corresponding author), Christopher Dong (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC, 29223, USA)
Year2017
Volume55
Issue2
Pages160-170
Publication date2017-10-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Social Science Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0362-3319 • E-ISSN: 1873-5355
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/j.soscij.2017.09.002
OpenAlexW2763140705
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited59

Despite attempts at using civic education to increase the civic engagement of young people, education policy is slow to adopt the recommendations of research and great variation exists within the United States in how schools deliver civics instruction. We hypothesize that when states make civics requirements more uniform and demanding, statewide civic participation among young people increases. Using state-level data about civic education requirements and voter registration and turnout from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), we find no evidence that a mandated civics course increases registration or turnout, but we do find a positive relationship between having a state-mandated civics exam and both registration and turnout among young people. We conclude that accountability policies could make a difference in the delivery of civic education at the state level

Civic engagement · Civics · Mathematics education · Political science · Politics · Public relations · State (computer science · Turnout · Voter registration · Voter turnout · Voting · Computer Science · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Social Media and Politics

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