Civic education & voter apathy Determining the need for increased civic Education

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CIVIC EDUCATION & VOTER APATHY DETERMINING THE NEED FOR INCREASED CIVIC EDUCATION Susan Spraker IDS 4934 Capstone

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Page 1: Civic education & voter apathy Determining the need for increased civic Education

CIVIC EDUCATION & VOTER APATHYDETERMINING THE NEED FOR INCREASED CIVIC EDUCATION

Susan SprakerIDS 4934 Capstone

Page 2: Civic education & voter apathy Determining the need for increased civic Education

IntroductionIn order to determine if more education in Civics course is needed to increase voter participation research on current trends was necessary. During the 2008 presidential election 56.8% of the national population of voting age voted. That means that 43.2% of U.S. citizens of voting age did not vote! In Orange County Florida the population was 1,072,801 in 2008 with 604,083 registered voters. Of these registered voters 77% voted however this equates only to 43.4% of voting age citizens in Orange County which is over 13% less than the national average. The voter turnout has not been above 60% since the 1968 presidential election and compared to other countries such as Australia who consistently has voter turnout 95% and above, the United States falls far behind. In an interview with Dr. Robert Peter DeWitt he stated that “The United States has a world class economy so we need a world class education on civics. The whole idea behind a democracy is to participate.”

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Statistical Comparison – 2008 Election

Population: 304,059,724

Population Age Voting(APV): 56.8%

Population: 1,072,801

Population Age Voting(APV): 43.4%

National Orange County, FL

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18-24 Years Voting Statistics 2008

Reported Voting and Registration, by Age, Sex, and Educational Attainment: November 2008

Age, sex, and educational attainment

Total Population

US Citizen                

Total Population 

   

Total Citizen Populati

on

Reported Registered

 Not Registered

 Reported Voted

 Did Not Vote

 Reported

RegisteredReported

Voted

      Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Percent Percent

18 TO 24 YEARS                        

BOTH SEXES                      

Total 28,263 25,791 15,082 58.5 10,708 41.5 12,515 48.5 13,275 51.5 53.4 44.3

Less than 9th grade 497 203 23 11.2 180 88.8 17 8.5 185 91.5 4.6 3.5

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 3,919 3371 1231 36.5 2140 63.5 949 28.1 2422 71.9 31.4 24.2

High school graduate 9,043 8,276 4,158 50.2 4,117 49.8 3,298 39.9 4,977 60.1 46.0 36.5

Some college or associate's degree 11,941 11,286 7,613 67.5 3,673 32.5 6,387 56.6 4,899 43.4 63.8 53.5

Bachelor's degree 2,637 2,454 1,931 78.7 523 21.3 1,745 71.1 709 28.9 73.2 66.2

Advanced degree 226 202 127 63.1 74 36.9 119 59.3 82 40.7 56.3 52.9

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Observational Research Time spent in observing

student’s knowledge in a civics course.

Interviews with students in Political Science courses

Surveys completed by students in college level Political Science Courses

Interview with Professor and published author R. Peter Dewitt, Ph.D.

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Survey Distributed

Hello! My name is Amy Reed. The following questionnaire is a survey for my Interdisciplinary Senior Capstone class that I am taking at UCF. This survey is to find out more about the influence of your education thus far on your voting habits. The results are for educational purposes only. Your responses will be kept confidential. Section I.

1. Do you vote? Yes No Can’t Say / Don’t Know If you answered “yes” please continue to question #2; if you answered “no” or “can’t say / don’t know” please go to question #4.

2. How often do you vote in national elections? Always Sometimes Never Can’t Say / Don’t Know

3. How often do you vote in local elections? Always Sometimes Never Can’t Say / Don’t Know

4. How many semesters of any level of Government course did you complete in high school? 1 semester 2 semesters 3 or more semesters Can’t say / Don’t know

Below is the survey that I distributed to the students in the course I was observing. Double click on the survey to scroll through the questions

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Survey ResultsStudents Surveyed: 51 % vote 92% received only one semester of

Civics courses 84% do not feel prepared to make

informed decisions 73% feel more civic education would be

beneficial

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Student Interview ResultsStudents interviewed – Some responses: Do not feel part of the political process Do not understand government or legislation or think it’s

too confusing to follow. Could not name the branches of government Did not know they were in a civics course Think that the government does not affect them enough to

care about what goes on Would rather watch reality T.V. than a news show featuring

any information on legislation Could not name the Vice President or Governor of Florida

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Dr. Dewitt Interview R. Peter Dewitt, Ph.D. received his Doctorate from State

University of New York at BinghamtonAccording to Dr. Dewitt the “more courses in civics would

increase the likelihood to vote. When citizens don’t vote they feel alienated and increases apathy in participating in their government. It has been studied many times that the higher the education, the higher the voter participation. The issue is that public policy doesn’t work unless people participate; the whole idea of a democracy is to participate. Additionally the higher the voting percentage equates to more political stability and less polarization.”

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Solutions Increase the amount of Civic education given to K-12

students. Incorporate Civics education into other subject areas such as

Language Arts; students could read political novels such as “Animal Farm” and “1984” by George Orwell or “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair.

Provide one semester of civics education a year in high school. Results

Increase participation in voting and other political engagements.

Political officials will have a larger electorate to be accountable to

Skills developed Advance knowledge in politics, policies, and legislation

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ConclusionAfter spending time with students in a civic course it became apparent that so many students aren’t well educated in civics. They don’t participate in politics and for the most part don’t care to because they don’t see the importance for it. In an age where the information is more abundant we are less interested in our government or other countries. Today there are several 24 hour news stations on t.v. and radio plus websites on the internet that provides information in an instance yet we would rather watch reality t.v. than be involved in our own reality. If changes aren’t implemented soon the consequences will be a government that reflects its people; a government which degenerates itself.

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SourcesU.S. Census Bureau – population Orange County Floridahttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12095.html

Orange County Florida Supervisor of Elections – 2008 election resultshttp://results.enr.clarityelections.com/FL/Orange/8511/14257/en/reports.html

International Idea Institute for democracy and electoral assistancehttp://www.idea.int/vt/country_view.cfm?id=231

Dewitt, R.P. Ph.D. in Political Science from State University of New York Binghamton

U.S. Census Bureau – Voting and Registration (excel table from)http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/index.html

Info Please all the knowledge you need – National voter turnout in Federal Elections 1960 - 2008http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html