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1 Introduction Policy for Youth Civic Engagement Peter Levine and James Youniss This book went to press soon after young Americans voted at extraordinarily high rates in the presidential primaries of 2008. The turnout rate of citizens under the age of 30 almost doubled that of 2000, the most recent year when there were competitive primaries in both parties (Kirby et al., 2000). As we write, young people are visibly excited, idealistic, and hopeful, as their high rates of volunteering and community service also demonstrate. Yet the turnout increase was uneven: young adults who had never attended college voted at very low rates. The results were still not adequate: more than 80 percent of all young adults did not vote in the primaries. And the uptick may not last. This burst of democratic participation invites us to ask how we can institutionalize the role of youth. After all, America needs young people to participate in our politics and civil society. Participation is good for them; it gives them a sense of purpose and meaning as well as valuable skills. In this volume, Daniel Hart and Ben Kirshner summarize powerful evidence that civic engagement promotes healthy and successful development. Youth participation is also good for the institutions and communities in which they live. Schools, municipal governments, and neighborhoods function better when they can tap the energy and knowledge of youth, instead of having to control deeply disaffected adolescents. Civic engagement enhances political equality, too. As Joseph Kahne and Ellen Middaugh argue, people who participate politically receive much more attention from government than those who do not, and this gap reflects differences in resources and social status. To reduce the gap, we must invest in the civic engagement of relatively disadvantaged youth, because extensive evidence shows that the early years are formative. And civic engagement is essential to sustaining our democracy, as youth learn the pragmatics of citizenship through participation. This form of sociali- 2 EngagingYoung People in Civic Life zation can occur in school, where students may acquire habits of civil discussion ; in neighborhoods, where youth interact with government and civic institutions ; and in municipalities, where young residents can contribute to local government. Civic engagement is the responsibility of society as a whole. Schools are usually given this burden, but political parties must also invite youth to join in. The news and entertainment media must stop portraying youth as a profligate , lost generation and feature youth’s actual accomplishments. In taking up this task, policy makers need not operate in the dark. In this volume, Henry Milner, David Kerr, and Marc Hooghe offer insights from Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Canada, which recognized this challenge some time ago and inaugurated programs that the United States might try to model. This book brings together a coherent synthesis of current research and thinking about policies for enhancing civic and political engagement in America’s youth. These strategies and recommendations are unusual in five respects : (1) They come from frontline researchers who have studied and understood youth within the contemporary political context. (2) They are based on the premise that recent generations of youth are not alienated, deficient in moral character, or lacking in responsibility, but are ready to take advantage of opportunities for participation. (3) They are oriented to the realistic educational , demographic, and political circumstances that necessarily shape the formation of youth’s political identity. (4) They take account of fresh approaches to civic education and political socialization, both of which are needed as bases for effective and realistic policy in the current educational and political climate. (5) They move from the “best practices” that might be adopted by an individual teacher or youth worker to questions of policy. After all, unless we change largescale investments and incentives, we will never seriously expand opportunities for the civic engagement of all youth. This book had its origin in a series of small group meetings at which scholars , policy makers, political advocates, and representative of professional associations exchanged insights about current research findings and analyses of policies regarding youth engagement. Through lively debate and shared expertise , it was agreed that available empirical results could serve as a launching pad for new and constructive policy recommendations. The question then turned to ways in which evidence could be connected to specific recommendations and how best to place research and policy ideas before the public and decision makers with the power to influence strategies and programs. This book provides answers to these questions. The participants for the present...

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