Equality in Cyberdemocracy? Gauging Gender Gaps in On‐Line Civic Participation*

Objectives. This study examines gender gaps in civic participation by describing gaps in on‐line participation and by explaining whether socialization, situation, or structure best account for gaps. Methods. Cross‐tabulations and OLS regression were used to analyze 2000 GSS data, which show that men are more likely to have used a computer or the web and to use the web or chat rooms more. Results. Few gender differences exist in on‐line civic participation. Men more frequently use government information websites and discuss political views, the economy, foreign affairs, and taxes on the web. Women tend to visit websites to better understand issue complexities and to discuss or learn about gender or women's issues. Marital or work situations do not influence discussion, but the structural variable of education specifies some on‐line civic participation. Conclusion. Social status is better than gender at explaining civic participation in general, political information source gathering, and versatility of political interests pursued on‐line.     

Political socialization in the classroom revisited: The Kids Voting program

Can a civic education program have a short-term impact on political awareness of students and also lead to higher turnout by their parents? This political socialization study evaluates a program, used by 2.3 million students in 1994, that was designed to achieve both goals. Responses to a random survey of 24,976 participants in the Kids Voting program indicate that most students followed the election campaign closely and found the KV program to be enjoyable and useful. Analysis of non-equivalent control groups shows a slight gain in turnout in areas where schools used the program, compared to areas where it was not used. The study also suggests Kids Voting may have several secondary benefits, such as increased student use of the news media and increased discussions of public affairs with family and friends—activities which are linked to long-term political socialization. It remains unclear whether any changes in student attitudes associated with the program are simply short-term in nature.     

Realities and Constraints: Pathways For Female School Leavers

This article analyses the pathways open to female; leavers as they make the transition from school to work or to post-secondary education. Trends which have social significance are investigated in terms of participation rates, employment patterns, representation across areas in post-secondary education, and status attainment within employment. Four types of explanations for the sex-differentiated pathways found were explored: sex-role socialization, value orientations, the opportunity structure, and discriminatory practices. The significance of differential patterns is explored within the general context of equality of opportunity and the increasing impact of technological change.     

Motivating Participation: The Symbolic Effects of Latino Representation on Parent School Involvement*

Objective. Decades of research suggest that parental involvement is vital for positive student academic achievement and thus one often‐proposed solution to alleviate the poor educational outcomes of minority students is to increase their parents' participation in school. Building on a psychological motivation argument, I investigate how the symbolic effects of minority representation impact minority parent involvement. Method. I test my hypotheses with original survey data from 324 Latino parents in Chicago. Results. My analysis suggests that, as hypothesized in the symbolic representation literature, Latinos in positions of power within schools send important heuristic cues to Latino parents that change their orientations to participation and ultimately manifest as increased school involvement. Conclusions. These results support education policies that attempt to increase the minority presence in schools at the administrative and governance levels, and highlight the need for greater enforcement of current diversity requirements under NCLB.     

Beliefs about Deliberation: Personal and Normative Dimensions

Democratic deliberative theory has long emphasized the importance of citizen deliberation as a form of political participation and a centrally important component of any vital democracy. Public deliberation and discourse among citizens has been less frequently investigated as a form of political participation than more standard indicators such as voting or volunteering for political organizations. This research examines the extent to which internalized beliefs about deliberation are associated with deliberation outcome measures among a national sample of high school students participating in a year-long deliberation forum, Project 540. Using a multilevel analysis, the research specifically tested the extent to which scales of personal and normative deliberation beliefs, independently and moderated by Project 540 participation, predict key deliberative outcomes (e.g., civic skills, intention to participate in civic affairs). We find that predeliberation endorsement of both personal and normative beliefs predicts increases in certain positive deliberative outcomes, and that these effects are not moderated by participation in Project 540. The implications of these findings for deliberative democracy theory and for developing effective citizen deliberation forums are discussed .     

Sports in School: Source of Amity or Antipathy?

Objectives . Previous research looks at the impact of school sports on participants' delinquency, but not at the impact on delinquency in schools; further, it does not control for school size or for unobserved school-level variables. This research fills that gap. It uses social capital theory to frame the impact of sports programs on both participants and nonparticipants. Social capital theory predicts that group cohesion will increase cooperative, pro-social behavior among those in the group; however, it can also increase uncooperative, antisocial behavior among those not in the group—particularly when in-group membership is seen as desirable. Social capital theory also predicts that larger schools will have more disturbances, but subgroups in large schools will reduce these adverse effects. Methods . The hypotheses were tested by looking at the relation between disturbances and interscholastic sports programs in Montgomery County, Maryland high schools. Using three years of data on each high school in the county, the study regresses disturbances on sports participation, holding constant demographic variables, school size, and a dummy variable for each school. Results . Larger schools have more disturbances, but bigger interscholastic sports programs mitigate these effects. Conclusions . The policy implications suggest that to foster cooperative behavior in high schools, it might be wise to limit school size, or to foster participation in varsity sports as school size increases.     

School Size and the Interpersonal Side of Education: An Examination of Race/Ethnicity and Organizational Context*

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to extend research on the connection between school size and student outcomes by examining how school size was related to interpersonal processes and whether the interpersonal effects of school size varied by race/ethnicity. Methods. We applied multilevel modeling techniques to a sample of 14,966 students in 84 schools from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results. Increasing school size was associated with decreasing student attachment to school and to teachers as well as extracurricular participation. Student attachment and teacher bonding diminished with increasing school size at a decreasing rate (reaching minimums in schools with between 1,700–2,000 students), but extracurricular participation dropped at a steady rate. These patterns did not differ substantially by race/ethnicity. Conclusions. The size of the educational institution influences interpersonal dynamics among actors in the institution and does so similarly across student groups. More generally, this research demonstrates the importance of organizational characteristics for social life.     

巴基斯坦伊斯兰宗教学校的发展状况、社会根源与影响

在国内政治、经济、宗教和教育以及外部力量等因素作用下,巴基斯坦宗教学校自20世纪80年代以来迅猛发展。当前,宗教学校数量之多、影响之大,前所未有。宗教学校是社会下层实现自下而上流动的主要途径,但由于教学内容和方法落伍,难以为社会培养高素质的宗教人才。宗教政党以宗教学校为基地,成为一支不受政府控制的重要社会政治力量。部分宗教学校对巴基斯坦社会稳定及地区和国际安全产生了不利影响。九一一事件之后,穆沙拉夫政府在美国压力之下推行宗教学校改革,但是效果不佳。     

Relationships among the civic awareness,mobilization, and electoral participation of elderly people in Hong Kong

Given the significance of the elderly population in the burgeoning democratic politics of Hong Kong, research is necessary to elucidate the basis for elderly people’s electoral participation. Furthermore, questions regarding impacts of mobilization, and civic awareness on the participation are of important concern. In response to the questions, the present study is the first one surveying a representative sample of 831 Chinese elderly people (aged > 60) in Hong Kong. Using causal modeling techniques, it identified latent variables of civic awareness (including exposure to media on public affairs and political knowledge), electoral participation, and mobilization by politicians and estimated their relationships. Results showed that civic awareness had a strong effect on electoral participation and mobilization also had some significant effect. Electoral participation also appeared to be a function of the elderly person’s education, age, sex, community attachment, and membership in an elderly center. These findings suggest that Hong Kong elderly people’s electoral participation is subject to influence of power, both internally through civic awareness and education and externally through mobilization.     

Community Service and Political Identity Development in Adolescence

This article addresses the interconnection of political socialization and identity development. We begin with Erikson's work, which identified the development of political commitment in adolescence as a key aspect of identity formation. We then seek to shed light on the social processes through which youth become engaged in political activities and issues. We discuss the influences of family and peers as well as participation in community service and other civic activities. The development of social responsibility and agency, and an understanding of the complexity of social issues are considered as important facets of political commitment. Data from a case study of Black urban adolescents who participated in a year-long service learning program are used to illustrate our perspective. We conclude that social-historical context, instantiated in social relationships and actions, plays a pivotal role in the process and shape of political socialization and identity formation.     

School Choice in London and Paris – A Comparison of Middle‐class Strategies

Education is one major public service in which quasi‐markets and other choice‐based mechanisms are now established methods of delivery. The types of school people choose, and the extent to which their choices are realized, have a fundamental impact on the outcomes of any mechanism of school choice. In this article, we provide a comparative analysis of the school choice strategies of middle‐class families in London and Paris. We draw on approximately 200 in‐depth interviews carried out across the two cities. This enables us to investigate the extent to which middle‐class school choice strategies transcend the institutional context provided by both the local (state and private) schools market and national education policy in England and France. We discuss these findings in the context of current school choice policy and consider their implications for future policy design.     

Do peer effects mediate the association between family socio‐economic status and educational achievement?

Differences in levels of academic achievement according to socio‐economic status (SES), and parental education in particular, have been a persistent feature of Australian education systems. Young people with highly educated parents are more likely than their peers with low‐educated parents to attain high levels of achievement at school. Students with low levels of achievement are less likely than their high achieving peers to complete Year 12 and are more likely to experience negative post‐school outcomes. The SES of the neighbourhood, and in particular, the school attended, has also been found to have an effect on levels of both academic achievement and attainment. For this paper, we conduct analyses of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy test scores for four cohorts of secondary school students attending government schools in the Australian Capital Territory to examine the associations between parental education, school attended and levels of educational achievement. Our findings show that students with university‐educated parents achieve at much higher levels than their peers with low‐educated parents and that attending a school with a higher proportion of students from educationally disadvantaged families has a negative effect on educational achievement.     

Political Participation and Cumulative Disadvantage: The Impact of Economic and Social Hardship on Young Citizens

In this article, we seek to provide the most comprehensive exploration to date of the effects of economic and social disadvantage on young citizens' voter turnout. We look at four overlapping domains of hardship—those rooted in (a) the family context, (b) the community context, (c) the school context, and (d) major events and life transitions. Our conceptual model of cumulative advantage/disadvantage identifies the different ways in which disadvantages can have cumulative effects on social outcomes generally and on civic participation in particular. Our framework also suggests how patterns of advantage and disadvantage may be mediated by social institutions. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey, we show that disadvantages rooted in the family have major impact on all groups of young citizens and that family disadvantage interacts with school disadvantage for whites. We also show that the effects of early parenthood, being arrested, and dropping out of school have differential effects depending on race. We also show that community colleges function as civic leveling institutions—especially for African American youth.     

Improving Service Delivery in Education Through Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of the Role of Cross‐Sectoral Alliances in the Development and Support of Charter Schools*

Objective. This article explores cross‐sectoral alliances as mechanisms for enhancing service delivery in public education. We assess the extent to which the three economic sectors—nonprofit, for‐profit, and public—are involved in partnerships with charter schools and identify the benefits that charter schools receive from partnering with other organizations. Methods. The study utilized a qualitative approach: data collection involved interviews with charter school experts in 37 states. Results. We found that organizations from each of the three economic sectors were involved in alliances with charter schools and that these alliances offered a range of financial (e.g., facilities, salaries), political (e.g., legitimacy, credibility), and organizational (e.g., curriculum, management) benefits. Conclusions. Our findings from this exploratory study suggest that cross‐sectoral alliances have the potential to enhance the capacity of charter schools to deliver high‐quality educational services. Three hypotheses generated from the findings are also offered to guide future research on charter school alliances.     

Required civics courses,civics exams,and voter turnout

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.     

Choosing an Occupation and Providing Employment for School Graduates

During the 1958-1959 school year we observed 100 10th grade pupils in two Erevan secondary schools with production training. The analysis of the data obtained showed that the participation of pupils in productive labor in factories and their contact with workers have a beneficial effect on their attitude towards a worker's trade and prepare them psychologically for their future work.     

Political and Civic Participation Among Disadvantaged Urban Mothers: The Role of Neighborhood Poverty*

Objective. This article explores the relationship between neighborhood economic conditions and mothers' political and civic participation, examining whether this relationship is conditioned on mothers' individual characteristics. Methods. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well‐Being Study, it tests specifically whether neighborhood poverty influences mothers' voting and voluntary behavior differently depending on their income, education, race/ethnicity, and relationship status. Results. The results suggest that the relationship between neighborhood poverty and voting behavior depends on mothers' education level and relationship status, whereas the relationship between neighborhood poverty and mothers' volunteer work varies by race and relationship status. Conclusions. The results are in accordance with what some qualitative research has long suggested: that the relationship between neighborhood conditions and individual outcomes varies from person to person and group to group. Future research on “neighborhood effects” should continue to move beyond homogeneous explanations for how neighborhoods influence behavior and instead seek to determine the specific conditions under which neighborhoods exert influence on individual outcomes.     

北京打工子弟学校的困境及学校社会工作的介入——以北京石景山HA打工子弟小学为例

随着越来越多的农民工子女进入了城市的打工子弟学校,关注打工子弟学校发展存在的困境及解决措施是有必要的。本文论述了打工子弟学校的缘起及其存在的内外困境,然后结合学校社会工作的理论和笔者参与的实务工作说明学校社会工作者的介入对于打工子弟学校的作用,从而探讨学校社会工作介入的模式和方法。     

Service Participation among Adolescents in Mainland China

Abstract

Service participation plays a critical role in adolescent development. To explore the characteristics of Chinese adolescents’ service participation, a national survey (N?=?6161 adolescents) was conducted in mainland China. Findings indicated that: (i) Chinese adolescents mostly participated in routine service activities within school, and the quality of their service experiences was relative low; (ii) adolescents’ service experiences varied across different districts, school types, and family structures; and (iii) the intensity, breadth, and type of service participation and service quality significantly predicted adolescents’ civic attitudes and intention for future service. Moreover, service quality moderated the association between service types or breadth and adolescent outcomes. Future longitudinal research is needed to further examine the association between adolescents’ service participation and developmental outcomes.     

The renewal of civic education in France and in America: Comparative perspectives

This article undertakes a comparative study of the renewal of civic education both in France and in America. It posits that the rising concern about the subject speaks to a broader interest for civic matters and citizenship. Civic education is in fact implicitly presented as the key solution to political apathy and disengagement of the youth and to the growing number of incivilities and violent actions at school.