Engaging young people in civic life (Vanderbilt University Press, 2009)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references and index
Introduction: Policy for youth civic engagement / Peter Levine and James Youniss -- A "younger Americans act": an old idea for a new era / James Youniss and Peter Levine -- Democracy for some: the civic opportunity gap in high school / Joseph Kahne and Ellen Middaugh -- Principles that promote discussion of controversial political issues in the curriculum / Diana Hess -- Policies for civic engagement beyond the schoolyard / James G. Gimpel and Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz -- Civic participation and development in urban adolescents / Daniel Hart and Ben Kirshner -- City government as enabler of youth civic engagement: policy designs and implications / Carmen Sirianni and Diana Marginean Schor -- Local political parties and young voters: context, resources, and policy innovation / Daniel M. Shea -- Youth electoral participation in Canada and Scandinavia / Henry Milner -- Civic education in Europe: perspectives from the Netherlands, Belgium, and France / Marc Hooghe and Ellen Claes -- Strengthening education for citizenship and democracy in England: a progress report / David Kerr and Elizabeth Cleaver -- Conclusion: The way forward / Peter Levine and James Youniss
The myth of generations of disengaged youth has been shattered by increases in youth turnout in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 primaries. Young Americans are responsive to effective outreach efforts, and this collection addresses how to best provide opportunities for enhancing civic learning and forming lasting civic identities. The thirteen original essays are based on research in schools and in settings beyond the schoolyard where civic life is experienced. One focus is on programs for those schools in poor communities that tend to overlook civic education. Another chapter reports on how two city governments, Hampton, Virginia, and San Francisco, have invited youth to participate on boards and in agencies. A cluster of chapters focuses on the civic education programs in Canada and Western Europe, where, as in the United States, immigration and income inequality raise challenges to civic life