Civic Engagement and Opinion of Politics at a High School Level

Abstract

"At one point or another, young people will become the majority that can vote compared to baby boomers and other demographics. Therefore it is important to address the political efficacy and engagement of youth, because they will be-or already are- making change. However, this is by no means a new idea. There have been studies in the past, however, this in particular will be addressing the question of, “To what extent do ethnicity, participation in political organization, party affiliations, and civic engagement level factor into students opinions of politics and their civic engagement?”"

After collecting 220 responses, students ethnicity, political affiliation, their level of civic engagement, and whether they were involved in a political organization was taken into account to determine the effect on their opinions of politics and how they interacted with government. It was found that involvement in a political organization was the greatest factor when looking at the data quantitatively and qualitatively.