Fostering Political Interest Among Youth During the 2012 Presidential Election

Abstract

Political interest is one of the most consistent predictors of political participation, but little research has examined how it develops. This study explores adolescents’ political interest development during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The research team collected and analyzed longitudinal data (surveys, interviews, observations) in high schools located in conservative, liberal, and centrist communities within one swing state. Findings indicate that students’ political interest increased during the election. These increases were related to greater public attention to politics and having opportunities to explore multiple sides of political issues and express political opinions. When guiding such experiences, some teachers struggled with various challenges, including one-sided political environments and students’ political cynicism. This study has numerous implications for education in democratic societies.

Motivating Political Participation Among Youth: An Analysis of Factors Related to Adolescents’ Political Engagement

“…Adolescence can be a vital stage in life to shape individuals' long-term participatory habits (Chan, Ou, & Reynolds, 2014;Jennings & Stoker, 2004;McAdam, 1988), so examining how to strengthen political engagement among youth could provide valuable insights. There are many programs that aim to foster political engagement among youth-some more successful than others (Levy, Solomon, & Collet-Gildard, 2016;Manning & Edwards, 2014), so research into the attitudes that are most central for such development could help these programs achieve their goals.…”

The US Presidential Election of 2016 and the Political Socialization of 8th-Graders

“…Because political interest predicts civic participation (Leighley & Vedlitz, 1999;Stromback & Shehata, 2010), presidential elections "provide unique 'teachable moments' for educators to leverage students' out-of-school experiences to strengthen their interest in related issues" (Levy et al, 2016).…”

“…The younger a person is, the less likely she is to be interested in or knowledgeable about politics Dalton (2009), yet the more exposure children have to politics, the more interested they become (Cohen & Kahne, 2011). Additionally, the more interested students become in politics, the more likely they are to be politically active (Levy, Solomon, & Collet-Gildard, 2016). While the political interest of adults is largely established (Prior, 2010), adolescents' political interest is malleable (Levy, Journell, He, & Towns, 2015;Neundorf, Smets, & García-Albacete, 2013).…”

“…While the political interest of adults is largely established (Prior, 2010), adolescents' political interest is malleable (Levy, Journell, He, & Towns, 2015;Neundorf, Smets, & García-Albacete, 2013). Adolescents' political interest certainly is influenced by parents Neundorf et al (2013), but classroom activities including discussions (Kahne, Crow, & Lee, 2013;Levy et al, 2016) can also enhance adolescents' political interest and activities.…”

School lessons, social media and political events in a get-out-the-vote campaign: successful drivers of political engagement among youth?

“…Hence, classroom discussion may positively affect interest, increase knowledge about political matters, and foster efficacy and political confidence (e.g. Feldman et al 2007;Galston 2007;Levy, Solomon, and Collet-Gildard 2016;Meirick and Wackman 2004;but see Stadelmann-Steffen and Sulzer 2018). We thus acknowledge that 'education through citizenship has lasting and positive effects on both expressive and electoral political engagement' (Keating and Janmaat 2016, 425).…”