The Political Engagement Project Survey

Transcription

1 0 The Political Engagement Project Survey Spring 2018 Report Prepared by Maddison Miles and Dena Pastor, Ph.D., April 2018

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 2 Political Engagement Project Survey (PEPS)... 4 Procedures and Sample... 4 Analysis... 4 POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING... 5 IDENTITY... 6 POLITICAL EFFICACY: EXTERNAL GOVERNMENT RESPONSIVENESS... 7 POLITICAL EFFICACY: PERCEPTION OF EFFECTIVE POLITICAL STRATEGIES... 8 POLITICAL EFFICACY: INTERNAL... 9 POLITICAL SKILLS ANTICIPATED FUTURE POLITICAL ACTION & INVOLVEMENT POLITICAL INFORMATION SEEKING POLITICAL IDEOLOGY PAST CIVIC INVOLVEMENT INTEREST & MOTIVATION Endnotes... 17

3 Executive Summary As part of a collection of assessments used inform the civic engagement initiative at JMU, the Political Engagement Project Survey (PEPS) was administered to a random sample of 371 students with credit hours during Assessment Day in February PEPS was administered to incoming freshmen in August 2017, with a report of the results available here: The present report provides detailed results from the February 2018 administration and considers how the responses of incoming freshmen in 2017 compare with the responses of more advanced students in The results detailed in the report are summarized here. Political Knowledge and Understanding The majority of students feel they have some knowledge of current affairs and of concepts essential for political understanding, but less than one quarter report in-depth knowledge in any area, suggesting there is room for improvement. For the majority of items, sophomores/juniors report feeling less knowledgeable than incoming freshmen. For example, 47% of incoming freshmen and only 24% of sophomores/juniors reported in-depth knowledge of political leaders and their roles. Identity Over 70% of students consider the following characteristics as being very central to their identity: being responsible, honest, compassionate, smart and willing to stand up for what s right. Less than half consider very central to their sense of self being: spiritual/religious, concerned about government/international issues, involved in solving community problems, and politically involved. Incoming freshmen and sophomores/juniors did not significantly differ in their responses to these items. Government Responsiveness 67% of students feel the national government would pay no attention at all to their complaints; only % feel the same way about local governments. Incoming freshmen and sophomores/juniors did not significantly differ in their responses to the national government item. However, relative to incoming freshmen, sophomores/juniors felt less attention would be paid to their complaints by local government. Perception of Effective Political Strategies 54% perceive voting and 49% consider staying informed as very effective strategies for influencing political outcomes. Less than 1/3 of students consider working through political parties or protesting as very effective. Significant differences between incoming freshmen and sophomores/juniors were found on the majority of these items, with sophomores/juniors perceiving strategies as less effective. For example, 72% of incoming freshmen and only 54% of sophomores/juniors perceive voting as a very effective political strategy Internal political efficacy Less than 1/3 of students very strongly agree that they have a good understanding of national political issues, a role to play in the political process, have something to say in political discussions or are well qualified to participate in the political process. Significant differences in some items were found with fewer sophomores/juniors strongly believing they have a good understanding of national political issues and a role to play in the political process. Political Skills Over half of students believe they are very capable of: articulating ideas/beliefs and reaching a compromise. Less than 1/5 of students feel very confident in their ability to write about political topics, know who to contact to address a political/social problem, or organize people for political action. Relative to incoming freshmen, significantly fewer sophomores/juniors felt confident in their ability to organize people or develop strategies for political action.

4 Anticipated Future Political Action & Involvement 88% of incoming freshmen and 73% of sophomore/juniors are certain they will vote in every national election. A little over 50% of incoming freshmen and sophomore/juniors of certain they will participate in non-political community service (interestingly, 10% and 15% of each group, respectively, are certain they will not do this). 41% of incoming freshmen and 30% of sophomore/juniors are certain they will vote in every local election. 23% of incoming freshmen and sophomore/juniors are certain they will promote a political or social cause through social media. A little less than 10% of incoming freshmen and sophomore/juniors are certain they will contact public officials (interestingly, 45% and 55% of each group, respectively, are certain they will not do this). Political Information Seeking 76% of students obtain news and information on the internet at least a couple times a week, with 20% of these students obtaining information 6-7 days a week. 54% obtain information from watching the news at least a couple of times a week. A little over half read a newspaper (online or in print) and discuss politics with others at least a couple days a week. Sophomores/juniors are not watching the news as frequently each week as incoming freshmen, but they are discussing public affairs and politics with other more frequently. Political Ideology 16% are conservative, % are liberal and 58% are middle of the road. These percentages do not significantly differ from those reported for incoming freshmen. Past Civic Involvement In the past year, many students volunteered for community organizations involved with education, health, or social services. 89% did not volunteered for a political group, candidate or official. Findings for sophomores/juniors do not significantly differ from those for incoming freshmen. Interest & Motivation The political or social involvement for the majority of students (56%) is influenced greatly by wanting to do something about an issue they care about. Relative to incoming freshmen, fewer students are participating in social or political action to further their career goals. Fewer sophomores/juniors than incoming freshmen get involved because they feel they can influence what happens, become upset by something they see happening, or believe it is a great learning experience

5 Defining and Assessing Civic Engagement at JMU At James Madison University (JMU), we define civic engagement as advancing the legacy of James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, by preparing individuals to be active and responsible participants in a representative democracy dedicated to the common good. Because the construct of civic engagement is broad, a comprehensive approach is needed for its assessment i. To provide a wide-ranging view of JMU students civic engagement capabilities and to measure aspects of civic engagement not already captured by other assessments, the Political Engagement Project Survey (PEPS) was administered to a small sample of incoming freshmen on Assessment Day in August 2017 ( The PEPS was administered again on Assessment Day in February 2018 to students with credit hours. This report provides results of the February 2018 administration and considers how the responses of incoming freshmen in 2017 compare with the responses of more advanced students in This instrument was selected ii because of its explicit focus on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for informed and effective political involvement, defined as activities intended to influence social and political institutions, beliefs, or practices and to affect processes and policies related to community welfare, whether that community is local, state, or national or international (Colby, Ehrlich, Beaumont, & Stephens, 2003, 18-). Political Engagement Project Survey (PEPS) The PEPS was created by Beaumont Colby, Ehrlich, and Torney-Purta (2006) for use in the Political Engagement Project, a 2007 multiinstitutional study of the effectiveness of 21 higher education programs and courses focused on promoting political understanding and involvement. Items iii on the PEPS are categorized into the following domains: Political Knowledge & Understanding; Political Skills, Political Identity, Values, & Norms, Political Interest & Motivation, Political Efficacy, Political Action & Involvement. Procedures and Sample This PEPS sample was drawn from a larger sample of 3,281 undergraduate JMU students with credit hours going into the Spring 2018 semester as part of a university-wide Assessment Day iv initiative. A random sample of 371 (61.99% female) of those students completed the PEPS during Assessment Day in four different proctored testing rooms. This sample consisted of sophomores (71.54%) and juniors (28.46%). Students were, on average, 20 years old (M =20.14; SD=0.74) and 83.83% identified themselves as White. Students were given 40 minutes to record their responses on Scantrons to the 90-item assessment, which was administered with an additional 30 items addressing civic knowledge and knowledge of national and international current events. The results for these additional assessments are provided in a separate report. Analysis In this report, responses to the items are represented graphically (measured in percent of total) for each section of items. To ease the presentation of data and show the variability of the responses, responses 6 and 5, 4 and 3, and 2 and 1 were collapsed into three categories: black, dark grey, and light grey. The black category captures favorable responses, the dark grey category captures somewhat favorable/uncertain responses and the light grey category captures unfavorable responses. Favorable Somewhat Favorable/Uncertain Unfavorable This categorization system applies to all sections of items unless otherwise noted. In our interpretation of results, we focus primarily on the percentage of students providing favorable (black) responses. 4

6 POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING These items were created to assess students foundational political knowledge and understanding. Students self-reported their knowledge of concepts essential for political understanding and their knowledge of current events and issues using the following scale: In-depth knowledge No knowledge The percentage of students responding in each of the three shaded categories are shown below. 5 Political leaders and their roles* Political institutions and how they work* Theories about politics and democracy Current national or international political issues, such as those on the front page of major newspapers* Current economic issues* Although the majority of students self-report at least some knowledge in all areas, far fewer report in-depth knowledge in each area. In fact, less than one quarter report in-depth knowledge in all areas, suggesting there is room for improvement. Organizations that work on social and political problems Current local or state political issues, such as those dealt with by city councils* 6 51 Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are marked with an asterisk. Statistically significant differences were found for the majority of items. For these items, sophomores/juniors report feeling less knowledgeable than incoming freshmen. For example, 47% of incoming freshmen and only 24% of sophomores/juniors reported in-depth knowledge of political leaders and their roles.

7 IDENTITY The following items assess students identity, or what they consider to be central to their sense of self. Students were asked to report how central each characteristic is to their sense of self using the following scale: Very central to my sense of self The percentage of students responding in each of the three shaded categories are shown below. Interestingly, every single student in the sample reported that standing up for what they believe in is either moderately or very important to them. However, only 60% reported being politically involved as somewhat or very important. It is possible that some students don t see political involvement as a way to stand up for what they believe in. Not central to my sense of self 6 Responsible, someone others can depend on Honest or truthful Compassionate, concerned about all kinds of people Smart or intellectually capable Willing to stand up for what I believe is right Outgoing or sociable Concerned about justice and human rights Fair, unbiased Creative or imaginative Concerned about government decisions and policies Guided by spirituality or religious faith Although the majority of students report all characteristics as being somewhat central to their sense of self, there are only 5 characteristics that over 70% of students consider as being very central to their identity: being responsible, honest, compassionate, smart and willing to stand up for what s right. Somewhat less (50%-70%) consider being outgoing, concerned about justice and human rights, and being fair as very central to their identity. Less than half consider very central to their sense of self being: being creative, concerned about government/international issues, spiritual/religious, unconventional, involved in solving community problems, and political involved. Concerned about international issues Involved in solving community problems Unconventional, nonconformist No significant differences in the responses to these items were found between sophomores/juniors and incoming freshmen. Politically involved 17 40

8 POLITICAL EFFICACY: EXTERNAL GOVERNMENT RESPONSIVENESS Political efficacy can be thought of as one s beliefs about their ability to accomplish goals in the political domain. Political efficacy can be internal, which is beliefs one has about their ability to comprehend and influence politics, or external, which is beliefs about how responsive government is to the demands of its citizens. The item below was administered to assess external efficacy and was responded to on the following scale: 7 A lot of attention The percentage of students responding in each of the three shaded categories are shown below. No attention If you or someone like you had a complaint about a government activity and presented that complaint to a member of the government, how much attention do you think he or she would pay to the complaint? Only 12% and 7% students feel their complaints would be given a lot of attention by local and national government, respectively. Local* Students feel local governments would be more responsive to their demands than national government. In fact, 67% of students feel the national government would pay no attention at all to their complaints. National 7 67 Sophomores/juniors and incoming freshmen did not differ in their responses to the national government item, but they did significantly differ in their responses to the local government item. Specifically, relative to incoming freshmen, sophomores/juniors felt less attention would be paid to their complaints by local government.

9 8 POLITICAL EFFICACY: PERCEPTION OF EFFECTIVE POLITICAL STRATEGIES The following items address student s perceptions about the effectiveness of various political strategies in influencing political outcomes. Strategies include those used to bring public or institutional attention to issues as well as strategies used to inform others or collaborate with other people. Students rated how effective they believed each strategy to be on the following scale: Very effective The percentage of students responding in each of the three shaded categories are shown below. Not effective at all Voting in elections* Becoming informed about issues in order to influence others* % perceive voting as a very effective political strategy and 49% consider staying informed as a very effective strategy. Working to get attention by the media Working with issue-oriented or interest groups* Raising awareness of issues through discussions* Working through political parties* Personally contacting influential people* Participating in public protests or demonstrations Working with community groups* Giving money to a candidate or cause* Only 20-37% consider other strategies to be very effective. Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are marked with an asterisk. Statistically significant differences were found for the majority of items. For these items, sophomores/juniors reported perceiving strategies as less effective than incoming freshmen. For example, 72% of incoming freshmen and only 54% of sophomores/juniors perceive voting as a very effective political strategy. Similarly, 37% of incoming freshmen and only 23% of sophomores/juniors perceive working through political parties to be a very effective political strategy.

10 POLITICAL EFFICACY: INTERNAL One s internal political efficacy is their beliefs about their ability to comprehend and influence politics. The items below were administered to assess internal efficacy and were responded to on the following scale: Very strongly agree The percentage of students responding in each of the three shaded categories are shown below. Very strongly disagree 9 I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of the political issues facing our country.* Less than 1/3 of students very strongly agree that they have a good understanding of national political issues, a role to play in the political process, and something to say in political discussions. I believe I have a role to play in the political process.* Only 1/5 of students very strongly agree that they are well qualified to participate in the political process and more informed than most people. When policy issues or problems are being discussed, I usually have something to say. 42 Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are marked with an asterisk. Statistically significant differences were found for two items. I consider myself well qualified to participate in the political process. I think that I am better informed about politics and government than most people For these items, sophomores/juniors reported lower internal political self-efficacy than incoming freshmen. For example, 40% of incoming freshmen and only % of sophomores/juniors very strongly agree that they have a good understanding of national political issues. Similarly, 35% of incoming freshmen and only 27% of sophomores/juniors very strongly agree that they have a role to play in the political process.

11 POLITICAL SKILLS Students were given a list of political skills and asked to rate on the following scale how well they can do each: Can do this very well Cannot do this The percentage of students responding in each of the three shaded categories are shown below. Articulate my ideas and beliefs to others Reach a compromise Recognize conflicting political interests Over half of students believe they are very capable of: articulating ideas/beliefs and reaching a compromise. Less than 1/5 of students feel very confident in their ability to write about political topics, know who to contact to address a political/social problem, or organize people for political action. Deal with conflict when it comes up Assume the leadership of a group Talk about social barriers such as race Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are marked with an asterisk. Statistically significant differences were found for three items. Weigh the pros and cons of different political positions Help diverse groups to work together With respect to the skill of making a statement at a public meeting, fewer sophomores/juniors felt middle of the road (dark grey response) about this skill relative to incoming freshmen. Make a statement at a public meeting* Write well about political topics Know whom to contact to get something done about a social or political problem Develop strategies for political action* Organize people for political action* With respect to the skill of developing strategies for political action, fewer sophomores/juniors felt they do this very well and more felt they cannot not do this relative to incoming freshmen. With respect to the skill of organizing people for political action, fewer sophomores/juniors felt middle of the road (dark grey response) about this and more felt they cannot not do this relative to incoming freshmen.

12 11 ANTICIPATED FUTURE POLITICAL ACTION & INVOLVEMENT Students were asked to use the scale below to convey their likelihood of engaging in each action in the future: Will certainly do this Will certainly not do this Vote in every national election* Participate in community service/volunteer activities for non-political organizations* Sign a written or petition about a political or social issue Vote in every local election* % of students are certain they will vote in every national election and 54% are certain they will participate in non-political community service. Discuss political problems with friends NOT buy something or boycott it because of conditions under which it is made or company's conduct Buy a certain product or service because you like the social or political values of the company Wear a campaign button, put a sticker on your car, or place a sign Take part in a protest, march, or demonstration Work together with someone/some group to solve a community problem* % are certain they will participate in petitions, vote in local elections, discuss politics, exercise their political/social voice through their activities as a consumer, display buttons/stickers/signs, protest/march, or work with others to solve a community problem. Promote a political or social cause via social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) Attend a speech, informal seminar, or teach-in about politics Work with a political group or volunteer for a campaign Give money to a political candidate or cause Write an editorial, blog, or thought piece to promote a political or social cause Contact or visit a public official - at any level of government* Less than 1/4 are certain they will promote causes through social media, attend political speeches/seminars, work for or give money to a political campaign/cause, or publicly write about political/social cause. Contact a newspaper or magazine to express your opinion on an issue Call in to a radio/ television talk show to express your opinion on a political issue Work as a canvasser going door to door for a political candidate or cause Less than 10% are certain they will contact public officials, express their opinion through newspapers/magazines/r adio/tv, or canvass door to door for a political candidate or cause.

13 Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are shown below with the color scheme as follows: Freshmen Soph/Jrs Will certainly do this 12 Will certainly not do this Vote in every national election* Freshmen Soph/Jrs Significantly more freshmen than sophomores/juniors are certain they will vote in every national election. Participate in community service/volunteer activities for nonpolitical organizations* Freshmen Soph/Jrs Significantly more sophomores/juniors than incoming freshmen report that they will not participate in nonpolitical community service activities. Vote in every local election* Freshmen Soph/Jrs Significantly more freshmen than sophomores/juniors are certain they will vote in every local election. Work together with someone/some group to solve a community problem* Freshmen Soph/Jrs Significantly more sophomores/juniors than incoming freshmen report that they will not work with others to solve a community problem. Contact or visit a public official - at any level of government* Freshmen Soph/Jrs Significantly more sophomores/juniors than incoming freshmen report that they will not contact or visit a local official.

14 13 POLITICAL INFORMATION SEEKING Students were asked how often in a typical week they obtain news and information from various sources. In a typical week, on how many days do you do each of the following? 6-7 days 4-5 days 2-3 days 0-1 days Read about public affairs and politics on the Internet Read about public affairs and politics in a newspaper (print version or on-line) Watch the news* Discuss public affairs and politics with others* Read magazines like Newsweek, Time, or U.S. News & World Report Students report obtaining news and information at least a couple days a week from all news sources. 76% of students obtain information on the internet at least a couple times a week, with 20% of these students obtaining information through the internet 6-7 days a week. 54% obtain information from watching the news at least a couple of times a week. A little over half read a newspaper (online or in print) and discuss politics with others at least a couple days a week. News magazines are the least consulted news source. Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are marked with an asterisk. Statistically significant differences were found for two items. Sophomores/juniors are not watching the news as frequently each week as incoming freshmen, but they are discussing public affairs and politics with other more frequently.

15 14 POLITICAL IDEOLOGY Students were asked to rate their political views on the following scale: Extremely Conservative Extremely Liberal Identifying as Conservative vs. Liberal Extremely Conservative Extremely Liberal These results show that 16% of students identify as extremely conservative, 58% identify somewhere in the middle, and % of students identify as extremely liberal. No significant differences in the responses to this item was found between sophomores/juniors and incoming freshmen.

16 15 PAST CIVIC INVOLVEMENT Students were asked how often they had done each type of work in the past year using the following scale: Very often once a Never week or more Volunteered for an organization involved with children or education (such as tutoring) % of students had experience the past year volunteering with children or education. Volunteered for a community organization involved in health or social services (such as helping the homeless or the elderly) % had experience volunteering for a community organization in health or social services. Volunteered for a religious group % volunteered for a religious group. Volunteered for an environmental organization % volunteered for an environmental organization. Volunteered for a political group, candidate, or official % volunteered in the political domain. No significant differences in the responses to these items were found between sophomores/juniors and incoming freshmen.

17 INTEREST & MOTIVATION Students were asked how much each of the reasons below influenced their participation in social or political action. If they did not participate in social or political action, they were asked to consider how much each of the following reasons might influence your intention to participate. A very important influence I want to further my educational or career goals* I want to do something about an issue that I care about Not an important influence 16 The political or social involvement for the majority of students (56%) is influenced greatly by wanting to do something about an issue they care about % get involved: because they want to further their career goals, are upset by something, believe politics has an impact on their lives, to influence what happens in their community, to learn, and to feel good about themselves. What happens in politics has an impact on my life Items for which the responses of sophomores/juniors statistically significantly differed from incoming freshmen are marked with an asterisk. Statistically significant differences were found for four items: By getting involved I can influence what happens in the community or nation* It s a great learning experience* I get involved when I become upset by something I see happening* It makes me feel good about myself Relative to incoming freshmen, fewer students are participating in social or political action to further their career goals. Fewer sophomores/juniors than incoming freshmen get involved because they feel they can influence what happens, become upset by something they see happening, or believe it is a great learning experience: o 45% of incoming freshmen versus 31% of sophomores/juniors report involvement for the purposes of influencing what happens in the community or nation. o 42% of incoming freshmen versus 33% of sophomores/juniors report involvement because they become upset by something they see happening. o % of incoming freshmen versus 32% of sophomores/juniors report involvement because it is a great learning experience

18 17 Endnotes i Several instruments assessing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) needed for informed and effective civic engagement have been (and continue to be) administered at JMU. Some of these instruments have been used primarily for the assessment of general education programming. For instance, the American and Global Experience tests have been used to assess the learning objectives of Cluster 4 general education courses, which focus on democratic institutions, history, politics, government, and organizational structures that influence societies and shape human behavior. Other instruments i have been used to take the civic engagement pulse of the student body. For example, a selection of items on the Core Survey of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) address the initiative and NSSE s Civic Engagement module was administered in 2014 to acquire a sense of students level of skill and participation in activities related to civic engagement. ii The instrument was selected by Dena Pastor in the Center for Assessment and Research Studies with its administration endorsed by Meg Mulrooney and Abe Goldberg. iii For some sets of items, Beaumont et al. provide factor analytic results to support the summing of items to create subscales. Because this was our first administration of the instrument, only item-level results are provided in this report. If further analyses support the creation of subscales with JMU students, results in future reports might be based on subscales, not items. iv The JMU Assessment Day model enables the university to collect longitudinal data on student learning and developmental outcomes by setting aside two days per year as dedicated Assessment Days. All first-year, incoming students are required to participate in the Fall Assessment Day (N 4,000 students); all students with credit hours (typically sophomores) are required to participate in the Spring Assessment Day (N 4,000 students). During the Spring Assessment Day students are administered the same instruments they were administered during the Fall Assessment Day (1.5 years prior), thereby creating a pre-post design that permits evaluation of gains in student learning and development. JMU requires all qualifying students to participate in Assessment Days. If a student is required to participate and fails to do so, a hold is placed on their record, prohibiting modifications to their current schedule and future course registration. References Beaumont, E., Colby, A., Ehrlich, T., & Torney-Purta, J. (2006). Promoting Political Competence and Engagement in College Students: An Empirical Study. Journal of Political Science Education, 2, Colby, A., Ehrlich, T., Beaumont, E., & Stephens, J. (2003). Educating citizens: Preparing America s undergraduates for lives of moral and civic responsibility. San Francisco: Josey-Bass. ###