394 research outputs found

    Fostering Students\u27 Civic Skills: Education for Sustainable Democracy

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    This qualitative study explored factors that supported teachers in their efforts to promote students’ critiquing, communicating, and collaborating skills. Despite the various challenges that public schools face today, they are most likely the very institutions to play a critical role in individuals’ civic skills development. Individual in-depth interviews were the primary method used to understand the participants’ perspectives on instruction and the factors that foster students’ civic skills. Factors that supported the participants in their efforts to promote civic skills among their students were found to be teacher collaboration, planning, and teacher motivation. Details and the implications of the findings were discussed

    The internet, society and politics : political participation in Australia

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    This thesis examines the effects of internet use on Australian citizens' propensity to participate in political activity. The study applies the 'civic voluntarism' model of political participation to the Australian case, theorising that internet use comprises a resource. It hypothesises that participation in Australia is a factor of an individual's free time, time spent using the internet, money, civic skills, internet-related skills, recruitment and engagement. Australia is an appropriate case study due to its institutional and cultural similarities with other advanced democracies, as well as its notable differences. Voting is compulsory for Australian citizens, and they are compelled to vote frequently and in complex systems. Previous research has found that compulsory voting has positive effects on participation between elections, as well as on the stability of the country's political parties. Australians have ample opportunity to participate in politics. The thesis analyses 2010 (and earlier) Australian Election Study data, supplemented by data from previous Australian Election Studies, the World Values Survey and Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. Descriptive, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression analyses find that internet use leads to participation earlier in life than would occur otherwise, but that participants possess the high socioeconomic status of participants in other advanced democracies. Skills are particularly important: across a range of behaviours including electoral, campaign, communal and protest participation, the positive influence of internet proficiency over time spent online is evident. However, the determinants vary greatly between types of participatory act, revealing lowered costs of entry, and opportunities for low-resourced citizens to equip themselves to participate. The findings have implications for understanding how the internet impacts the changing face of participation in Australia, how citizens can be mobilised in the future and the prognosis for the health of Australia's participatory democracy

    The public service-motivated volunteer devoting time or effort: a review and research agenda

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    The purpose of this conceptual article is to further our understanding of how evolving volunteer trends impact on volunteering intensity. The aim is to provide clarity by applying to the volunteer literature a theoretical framework that can be adapted to different ways in which people volunteer and thus may inform subsequent empirical work. First, we address academic debates concerning the measurement of volunteer effort. Second, we propose using public service motivation (PSM) theory as a means to understand the motivation of volunteers across sectors. We suggest that different PSM dimensions may be more dominant in certain volunteer settings than others and incorporate person–organisation fit as a means to understand the relationship between PSM and volunteering intensity. Finally, this article proposes directions for future research

    Media consumption and civic engagement: the reasoned action theory as a way forward to determine the relationship

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    Communication is important to enable ideas to be transformed into informed actions. As such, the media used for such communication is crucial and play an important role in broadcasting the information. The proliferation of the Internet has greatly enhanced the important role of the media and changed the landscape of the media industry. In addition to conventional media, consumers are now able to access a variety of social media applications. Both types of media are important and needs to be considered as it continues to be consumed across demographics and play important roles in communicating information. Further, both types of media are capable of informing and shaping the views of consumers in a variety of areas from the political to the social. The important question remains as to whether increased availability, access, and connectivity to the various types of media and the information provided have enabled opportunities to media consumers to engage in discussions to stimulate civic engagement leading to activism. Research investigating users’ media consumption and civic engagement with issues explored is largely not well theorised and often offer inconclusive or conflicting results. As such, the ensuing discussion proposes a way forward utilising the Reasoned Action Theory to determine the relationship between media consumption and civic engagement

    Identifying Factors that Predict Policy Practice Among Social Workers

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    The social work profession has long touted a dual focus on service within micro and macro realms of practice, preparing social workers to serve marginalized populations at the boundary between the powerful and the powerless. Research, however, has shown that macro social work, or policy practice, has diminished. Current research has been inconsistent in identifying predictive factors of increased policy practice. With recent efforts by the profession to bolster waning policy practice among social workers, it is vital to identify factors that predict higher engagement. Theoretical frameworks suggest that professional socialization in policy practice as a group norm, having resources to participate in policy practice, being psychologically engaged in politics, and engaging in recruitment networks tends to increase policy practice. Based on these frameworks, professional socialization, policy practice preparedness, type of employment, and social media use were considered as potential predictive factors of engagement. The purpose of this study was to analyze these factors that may predict policy practice among social workers. Survey research was used to gather data from practicing social workers in Illinois (N = 93). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis empirically validated that higher levels of perceived professional socialization and policy practice preparedness both predicted higher levels of policy practice. Additionally, social workers who reported primary roles as administrative were more likely to engage in policy practice than direct practitioners. The results point to a need for the social work profession to bolster knowledge and skills in policy practice, reinforce professional identification in policy practice, and mobilize leaders to recruit and mentor direct practitioners

    Parent Civic Behavior and Observed Civic Messages: Associations with Adolescent Civic Behavior and Prioritization

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    The current study employed observational and multi-informant survey methodology to explore associations among parents\u27 civic behaviors, observed parent and adolescent messages about civic obligation, and adolescents\u27 civic behavior and prioritization (should) judgments. A sample of 160 adolescents (Mage = 14.42, range = 12-18) and their parents (144 mothers and 52 fathers), participated in video-recorded, structured, dyadic interaction tasks in which they discussed citizenship and civic duty. Parents and adolescents also completed questionnaires assessing civic behavior and civic prioritization judgments. Within distinct civic activities, parents\u27 report of civic behavior was positively associated with adolescents\u27 report of civic behavior and prioritization judgments. Over and above parents\u27 civic behavior, adolescents\u27 community service behavior was positively associated with parents\u27 observed messages about help and respect for others and one\u27s country but negatively associated with adolescents\u27 own observed messages about being productive members of society. Additionally, parents\u27 observed messages about the importance of following rules and regulations were negatively associated with their adolescents\u27 prioritization judgments concerning social movement involvement (e.g., protesting). Findings suggest that parents\u27 observed messages about citizenship and civic duty may promote and deter adolescents\u27 from engagement in specific civic activities

    Baccalaureate nursing student civic engagement study

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    Facebook use and online political participation among youth in Nigeria: the moderating role of political interest

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    The Facebook can increase political participation of the politically apathetic youth online. However, little evidence were shown from research on the use of Facebook for online political participation (OPP) among youth. The objectives of this study are to identify the level of online political participation among youth in Nigeria, to determine gender difference in the participation, to examine whether there is a significant relationship between their Facebook usage in terms of cognitive, social integrative usage, personal integrative usage, affective usage, escapist usage Facebook intensity, Facebook perception and OPP. It also analyses the moderating role of Political Interest (PI) in the relationships. A survey was conducted on 473 undergraduate youth in Kaduna State University (KASU), Nigeria. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data which was analyzed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The result revealed that there is a significant level of online political participation among youth on Facebook. The Facebook cognitive usage, social integrative usage, affective usage, escapist usage and perception leads to OPP among youth, except for the relationship of personal integrative usage and Facebook intensity. Political interest (PI) moderates the relationship between Facebook cognitive usage, social integrative usage, perception and OPP. There is a significant difference between male and female youth in OPP. The study provides an empirical based knowledge on the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) and Civic Voluntarism Model (CVM) for exploring actual Facebook usage, intensity and perception for OPP. It also presents a model based on the UGT for understanding challenges to the Facebook use for online political participation. The acceptable validity and reliability values of the study instrument reinforce its suitability for its adaption or adoption in another context. The results on Facebook perception and Facebook usage by the youth for political participation might help political stake-holders to consider using Facebook in their activities

    Savvy and woke: Gender, digital profile, social media competence, and political participation in gender issues among young Filipino netizens

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    Social media has become a viable platform for political participation in issues related to gender, especially among the youth. Evidence suggests that gender and sexual identities, digital access, and skills foster political participation in social media. This study sought to determine the predictive relationship of gender, digital profile, and social media competence with social media political participation in gender issues (SMPP-GI) among young Filipino netizens through the lenses of social identity theory and resource model of political participation. A total of 1,090 college netizens aged 18–30 years old participated in this cross-sectional study. An online survey was used to collect data. The respondents reported low to moderate levels of SMPP-GI. Females and non-cisheterosexual respondents report higher scores in certain types of SMPP-GI. Respondents using more social media sites have higher levels of latent and counter engagement SMPP-GI. Among the four domains of social media competence, content generation significantly predicted all types of SMPP-GI, while content interpretation and anticipatory reflection were significantly linked with at least one type of engagement
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