Handbook of Research on Civic Engagement in Youth E-Book

Lonnie R. Sherrod

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1426

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Engaging youth in civic life has become a central concern to a broad array of researchers in a variety of academic fields as well to policy makers and practitioners globally. This book is both international and multidisciplinary, consisting of three sections that respectively cover conceptual issues, developmental and educational topics, and methodological and measurement issues. Broad in its coverage of topics, this book supports scholars, philanthropists, business leaders, government officials, teachers, parents, and community practitioners in their drive to engage more young people in community and civic actions.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contributors

Preface: Promoting Research on Youth Civic Engagement

PRODUCTION PROCESS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

THE NATURE OF RESEARCH ON YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

ORGANIZATION OF THIS HANDBOOK

GOALS FOR THE HANDBOOK

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

SECTION I - MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: CONCEPTUAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

CHAPTER 1 - Toward a Political Theory of Political Socialization of Youth

BACKGROUND

THE NATURE OF POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

THEORY OF POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 2 - A Political Science Perspective on Socialization Research: Young ...

ANTICIPATED POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AMONG YOUNG ADOLESCENTS: TURNING THE EUROPEAN ...

FOUR HYPOTHESES ON CROSS-NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENTS’ PARTICIPATORY INTENTIONS

EXPLAINING THE PARTICIPATORY INTENTIONS: EXPLORING EMPIRICAL RESULTS

REPORTED POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN LATE ADOLESCENCE AND EARLY ADULTHOOD: RESHAPING ...

FORMATIVE YEARS OF EMERGING STAND-BY CITIZENS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 3 - The Sources of Adolescent Activism: Historical and Contemporary Findings

PROTESTS, RIOTING, AND ORGANIZING

ORIGINS OF YOUTH ACTIVISM

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

INTERVENTIONS

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 4 - Youth Civic Engagement in the Developing World: Challenges and Opportunities

THE CONTEXT FOR YOUTH CITIZENSHIP AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

YOUTH BULGES, HUMAN CAPITAL, AND CITIZENSHIP

THE CIVIC DOMAIN

MEDIATING INSTITUTIONS AND YOUTH CITIZENSHIP

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 5 - Youth Civic Engagement: Normative Issues

THE RELEVANCE OF NORMATIVE PHILOSOPHY TO YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

WHAT NORMATIVE POSITIONS ARE EMBODIED IN ACTUAL PROGRAMS?

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 6 - Youth Civic Engagement in Mexico

INTRODUCTION

POLITICAL CONTEXT AND TRANSITIONS IN LATIN AMERICA

POLITICAL CULTURE AND YOUTH IN MEXICO: CHANGE IN INSTITUTIONS WITH LITTLE ...

CONCLUSIONS

IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH AND POLICY

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 7 - Citizenship Education: A Critical Look at a Contested Field

INTRODUCTION

MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION—THE CHALLENGES

CONTESTED CITIZENSHIP STATUS AND IDENTITY

CITIZENSHIP IN THE GLOBAL WORLD; THE PARADOXES OF GLOBALIZATION

THE MCDONALD AND DISNEY “WORLD CITIZEN”?

CONTESTED CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES: THE NATURE OF “DEMOCRACY”

CONTESTED PRACTICES: CIVIC ACTION

CATEGORIES OF CIVIC PARTICIPATION

CITIZENSHIP PRACTICES: THE ROLE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY

NEW TECHNOLOGY: A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE

CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

THE POLITICAL AGENDA

A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE (LIKELY) FUTURE

REFERENCES

SECTION II - GROWING INTO CITIZENSHIP: DEVELOPMENT, SOCIALIZATION, AND DIVERSITY

CHAPTER 8 - The Relation between Developmental Theory and Measures of Civic ...

BACKGROUND

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

THEORIES SPECIFIC TO CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

MEASUREMENT OF CIVIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF ADOLESCENTS’ CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: THEORY, METHODOLOGY, ...

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 9 - Social Cognitive Development and Adolescent Civic Engagement

PROSOCIAL REASONING

RESEARCH ON POLITICAL BELIEFS

CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES ON ADOLESCENTS’ CIVIC AND POLITICAL BELIEFS

CIVIC BEHAVIOR AND CIVIC REASONING

CONCLUSIONS

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 10 - Early Childhood as a Foundation for Civic Engagement

THE HISTORY OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT RESEARCH WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

EARLY CHILDHOOD COMPETENCES AND LATER CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND PROSOCIAL SKILLS: PRECURSORS TO LATER CIVIC ENGAGEMENT?

EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS AS A CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

CHILDREN AS CITIZENS

CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

CHALLENGES TO OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAY

RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 11 - Civic Engagement during the Transition to Adulthood: ...

CIVIC DEVELOPMENT DURING ADOLESCENCE AND THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD

GENERATIONAL DIVIDES IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT DURING THE ...

CONCLUSIONS: POLICY AND PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 12 - Schools and Social Trust

RELATIONAL TRUST AND EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND PREVENTION PROJECT

SCHOOLS AS MINI POLITIES

REFLECTIONS ON THE DEMOCRATIC ROLE OF SCHOOLS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 13 - The Civic Empowerment Gap: Defining the Problem and Locating Solutions

CITIZENSHIP AND THE CIVIC EMPOWERMENT GAP

DE FACTO SEGREGATED MINORITY SCHOOLS

WHAT WE CAN DO

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 14 - Communication and Education: Creating Competence for ...

THE DEMOCRACY DIVIDE

COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE AS A CENTRAL CONCEPT

THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS IN CREATING COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE

MEDIA USE, NETWORK DISCUSSION, AND THEIR INFLUENCES

CHANGES AND CHALLENGES IN THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

UNDERSTANDING USAGE AND EFFECTS ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE

EFFECTS OF SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, MEDIA USE, AND POLITICAL DISCUSSION ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

CAN COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE DIMINISH THE DEMOCRACY DIVIDE?

IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 15 - Changing Citizen Identity and the Rise of a Participatory Media Culture

AN OVERVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA ENGAGEMENT TRENDS

CHANGING CITIZEN IDENTITY AND THE NEW MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

THE PARTICIPATORY MEDIA SHIFT IN YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

CIVIC LEARNING AND CITIZENSHIP STYLES IN THE YOUTH CIVIC WEB

POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING ONLINE YOUTH COMMUNITIES

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 16 - Immigrant Youth in the United States: Coming of Age among Diverse ...

RATES OF PARTICIPATION

MOTIVES FOR PARTICIPATING

DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

DEVELOPMENTAL CONTEXTS

CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND POLITY

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 17 - The Civic Life of Latina/o Immigrant Youth: Challenging Boundaries ...

GROWTH AND DISPERSAL OF LATINA/O IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

INCLUSIVE DEFINITIONS OF IMMIGRANT YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

DIVERSITY OF LATINA/O IMMIGRANT YOUTH

METHODS, THEMES, AND VOICES

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL STUDIES

QUALITATIVE PERSPECTIVES

SUMMARY: IMMIGRANT YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT YOUTH: METHODOLOGIES AND THEMES

SCHOOL MEMBERSHIP AND GRADUATION AS TRAUMA

THE PARADOX OF SOCIAL REJECTION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS AND THE IN-STATE TUITION MOVEMENT

ENFORCEMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION ACCESS AND OTHER POLICY STRUGGLES

SUMMARY: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AMONG UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 18 - LGBT Politics, Youth Activism, and Civic Engagement

LGBT CITIZENSHIP, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, AND ACTIVISM

YOUTH, ACTIVISM, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

SCHOOLS AS SITES OF EDUCATION AND RESISTANCE

GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCES AS CIVICS EDUCATION

IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

SECTION III - METHODOLOGICAL AND MEASUREMENT ISSUES IN STUDYING YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

CHAPTER 19 - A Conceptual Framework and Multimethod Approach for Research on ...

INTRODUCTION

SURVEY RESEARCH IN POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

IMPROVING RESEARCH IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY IMPROVING THE FRAMEWORK FOR ...

IMPROVING RESEARCH IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY USING MULTIPLE METHODS

CONTRASTING QUANTITATIVE (SURVEY) AND QUALITATIVE (FOCUS GROUP) METHODS IN ...

CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 20 - Political Agency and Empowerment: Pathways for Developing a Sense ...

INTRODUCTION

PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICAL EFFICACY FROM POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY

THEORETICAL ROOTS: POLITICAL AUTONOMY, POLITICAL COURAGE, AND DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE

SENSE OF POLITICAL EFFICACY IN RELATION TO PARTICIPATION, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, ...

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF-EFFICACY

EXAMINING POLITICAL LEARNING AND POLITICAL EFFICACY IN UNDERGRADUATES

APPLYING A PSYCHOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK TO POLITICAL LEARNING: FOUR PATHWAYS TO A ...

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 21 - The Transdisciplinary Nature of Citizenship and Civic/Political ...

INTRODUCTION

THE GROWING RECOGNITION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF EVALUATION RESEARCH: A BRIEF ...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT BETWEEN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

SUMMARY OF ROBUST RESEARCH FINDINGS

NATIONAL EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

CURRENT EXAMPLES OF EVALUATION RESEARCH IN CIVIC EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT

CONCLUSIONS

EVALUATION IN THE FIELD OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

CONCLUSIONS

BUILDING EVALUATION CAPACITY

CHAPTER SUMMARY

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 22 - Conceptualizing and Evaluating the Complexities of Youth Civic Engagement

THE GOLD STANDARD DEBATE

EVALUABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES

ALTERNATIVE YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THEORIES OF CHANGE

SIMPLE VERSUS COMPLEX MODELS

A YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT EXAMPLE: INNOVATIONS IN CIVIC PARTICIPATION

COMPLEX, DYNAMIC SYSTEMS MAPS TO UNDERSTAND YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OUTCOMES

INTERDEPENDENT AND INDIVIDUALIZED OUTCOMES

DEVELOPMENTAL EVALUATION

EVALUATING INNOVATION

COMPLEXITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

CONCLUSION: WHERE METHOD AND THEORY INTERSECT

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 23 - Critical Youth Engagement: Participatory Action Research and Organizing

CRITICAL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: A CONCEPTUAL AND POLITICAL FRAMEWORK

GROUNDING OUR WORK IN THE PRACTICE OF YPAR AND YOUTH ORGANIZING

CRITICAL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT CORE COMMITMENTS

CRITICAL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT AS RESEARCH METHOD: PARTICIPATORY DESIGN AND METHODS ...

CRITICAL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT, ORGANIZING, AND PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH: ...

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 24 - Informed Social Reflection: Its Development and Importance for ...

A FRAMEWORK FOR THE INTEGRATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

REFLECTIONS ON ADOLESCENT INFORMED SOCIAL REFLECTION: THE CASE OF SOCIAL ...

HOW PRACTICE-INSPIRED RESEARCH EVIDENCE IS INCORPORATED INTO A THEORY OF ...

THE EVOLUTION OF TOOLS TO ASSESS PROGRAMS THAT PROMOTE INFORMED SOCIAL REFLECTION

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A

Author Index

Subject Index

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth / editors, Lonnie R. Sherrod, Judith Torney-Purta, Constance A. Flanagan.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-470-52274-5 (cloth); 9780470636787 (ePDF); 9780470636794 (eMobi); 9780470636800 (ePub); 9780470767603 (O-Bk).

1. Youth—Political aspects—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Political participation—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Social action—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Sherrod, Lonnie R. II. Torney-Purta, Judith, 1937-. III.

Flanagan, Constance A. HQ799.2.P6H36 2010 323’.0420835—dc22

2009054054

Contributors

Jo-Ann AmadeoUniversity of Maryland College Park, MD

Erik AmnåÖrebro University Örebro, Sweden

Molly AndolinaDePaul University Chicago, IL

Jennifer AstutoNew York University New York, NY

Elizabeth BeaumontUniversity of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN

W. Lance BennettUniversity of Washington Seattle, WA

Charmagne Campbell-PattonWorld Savvy Minneapolis, MN

Sergio CardenasCol. Lomas de Santa Fe México, D.F.

Jason Lee CrockettUniversity of Arizona Tucson, AZ

Michelle FineThe Graduate Center, City University of New York New York, NY

Andrea FinlayThe Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA

Constance FlanaganThe Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA, and University of Wisconsin Madison, WI

Madeline FoxThe Graduate Center City University of New York New York, NY

Deen FreelonUniversity of Washington Seattle, WA

Rebecca Lakin GullanThe Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania and Gwynedd-Mercy College Gwynedd Valley, PA

Daniel HartRutgers University Camden, NJ

Helen HasteHarvard University Cambridge, MA, and University of Bath Bath, United Kingdom

Diana HessUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI

Ann Higgins-D’AlessandroFordham University Bronx, NY

Lene Arnett JensenClark University Worcester, MA

Ronald KassimirThe New School New York, NY

Janet KwokHarvard University Cambridge, MA

Carolyn LaubGay-Straight Alliance Network San Francisco, CA

James LauckhardtFordham University Bronx, NY

Nam-Jin LeeUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI

Peter LevineTufts University Medford, MA

Meira LevinsonHarvard University Cambridge, MA

Hugh McIntoshConsultant Oakton, VA

Jack McLeodUniversity of Wisconsin Madison, WI

Kavitha MedirattaBrown University New York, NY

Aaron MetzgerWest Virginia University Morgantown, WV

Michael Quinn PattonUtilization-Focused Evaluation Saint Paul, MN

Fernando ReimersHarvard University Cambridge, MA

Martin D. RuckThe Graduate Center, City University of New York New York, NY

Jessica RuglisJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, MD

Stephen T. RussellUniversity of Arizona Tucson, AZ

Hinda SeifUniversity of Illinois at Springfield Springfield, IL

Robert L. SelmanHarvard University Cambridge, MA

Dhavan ShahUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI

Seema ShahInternational Baccalaureate New York, NY

Lonnie R SherrodSociety for Research in Child Development Ann Arbor, MI and Fordham University Bronx, NY

Judith G. SmetanaUniversity of Rochester Rochester, NY

Tara M. StoppaEastern University St. Davids, PA

Brett StoudtJohn Jay College City University of New York New York, NY

Michael StoutMissouri State University Springfield, MO

Amy K. SyvertsenThe Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA Search Institute Minneapolis, MN

Russell B. ToomeyUniversity of Arizona Tucson, AZ

Judith Torney-PurtaUniversity of Maryland College Park, MD

Chris WellsUniversity of Washington Seattle, WA

Britt WilkenfeldUniversity of Maryland College Park, MD

Laura Wray-LakeThe Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA Claremont Graduate University Claremont, CA

James YounissThe Catholic University of America Washington, DC

Pär ZetterbergUppsala University Uppsala, Sweden

Preface: Promoting Research on Youth Civic Engagement

This Handbook is the final product of a consortium of researchers from multiple disciplines who focused on youth political development. This Consortium funded by the William T. Grant Foundation was formed in fall 2000, as the first editor of this Handbook left the vice presidency of the Foundation. The Foundation devoted funds to this effort, because of its recognition that citizenship is as important to adult functioning as work or family. Yet the topic of citizenship has received far less attention from researchers. The Consortium had five aims: (1) to promote research on youth civic development, (2) to identify the areas where research is needed, (3) to explore research strategies and methods, (4) to serve as a clearinghouse for research in the area and to develop networks as a means of fostering collaborations, and (5) to promote consideration of research/practice interactions in the area. This Handbook, although not specifically addressing each of these goals, represents the culmination of the Consortium’s almost 10-year history. The authors of this Handbook were asked to summarize research and especially to consider multidisciplinary work, international perspectives, and implications for policy, each of which relates to the Consortium’s goals.

Core members of the Consortium in addition to the founder and organizer Lonnie Sherrod include: LaRue Allen, New York University; William Damon, Stanford University; Constance Flanagan, Pennsylvania State University and now the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Alan Gitelson, Loyola University, Chicago; Daniel Hart, Rutgers University; Ron Kassimir, Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and now The New School; Jack McLeod, University of Wisconsin; Steven Russell, Arizona State University; Alex Stepick, Florida International University; Judith Torney-Purta, University of Maryland; and James Youniss, Catholic University. Guests at Consortium meetings included: Michael Delli Carpini, Pew Charitable Trusts and now the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania; Cynthia Gibson, Carnegie Corporation of New York; Lisa Sullivan, LISTEN; Harry Boyte, University of Minnesota; as well as graduate students from Fordham and Grant Foundation staff. The Consortium’s first goal, which was to promote research on youth civic engagement, was of most importance to the group, and we believe we have been successful in this regard.

Eight meetings were held. Practitioners and staff from interested foundations, for example, were invited or informed of meetings and their results. Many of these individuals participated in publications including authoring chapters in this Handbook. Within a few years of the establishment of the group, two major publications emerged: a special issue of Applied Developmental Science, October 2002, edited by Lonnie Sherrod, Constance Flanagan, and James Youniss; and an Encyclopedia of Youth Activism, edited by Lonnie Sherrod, Constance Flanagan, Ron Kassimir, and Amy Syvertsen, published by Greenwood Press in 2005.

One of the Consortium’s major accomplishments was the publication of the special issue of the journal Applied Developmental Science on youth civic development in fall 2002. It contained summary articles and empirical research articles in a variety of relevant areas. This issue was one of the first efforts to examine civic development in minority youth, including sexual minority youth, and it is now cited widely. Furthermore, additional copies of this journal were purchased and mailed to a list of nearly 500 policy-makers, foundation executives, program directors, and other researchers. The Foundation’s mailing list was a basic source for identifying these opinion leaders in this field.

It is of course impossible to say that these publications were the direct cause of the developments we describe for the field. Nonetheless, we believe that research on civic engagement has grown in both popularity and perceived importance during this period. When the Consortium began in 2000, the only sessions on related topics at meetings such as the Society for Research in Child Development or the Society for Research on Adolescence were those organized by Consortium members. Now sessions are numerous, there have been preconferences, and citizenship and civic engagement have become established as keywords in the submission process. Both the Annenberg and Spencer Foundations are considering or are launching initiatives in the area. Consortium members routinely receive applications from graduate students interested in the topic. Relevant items have been added to studies such as Add Health and there already have been multiple publications based on these data. Interdisciplinary and comparative studies have begun in several European nations. Several senior researchers in social development more generally have added the topic to their repertoire of research interests. In fact, we believe the field has matured to the point where this Handbook is needed.

Our publications have explicitly addressed our second goal, which is to identify areas where research is needed. Each chapter in the Handbook, for example, addresses research needs and policy implications. The project’s goal was field development, not generation of new knowledge per se. However, we have been successful in promoting research on the topic of urban disadvantaged and minority youth, immigrant youth, and sexual minority young people.

In fulfilling its third goal the Consortium has explored methods of research on youth civic engagement and has formulated a list of available datasets to support research on civic engagement; one example is the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), with which member Daniel Hart has worked. Member Constance Flanagan worked with the Add Health study to add a module on civic engagement in the last round of data collection. Since the mid-1990s Judith Torney-Purta had been leading the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study, which surveyed 140,000 adolescents in 28 countries on several dimensions of civic engagement. These data are available for use by researchers. Working with schools to conduct new data collection is proving to be difficult for researchers in all parts of the country, and the Consortium has explored vehicles for doing research with youth other than the usual survey approach. For example, Lonnie Sherrod held focus groups of youth in the Bronx in order to obtain youth input into the research agenda.

The Consortium has established lasting contacts with other relevant organizations such as the SSRC Committee on Youth Development, CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Spencer Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and others. Representatives from these organizations have attended Consortium meetings.

We believe the Consortium has been successful, and this Handbook, the first in this area, is a major reflection of that success. The purpose of this resource volume is to present the state of the field. With sections on conceptualization and definition (including international and multidisciplinary perspectives), development and developmental influences, and measurement and methods of research, the volume aims to be comprehensive. Each author was invited to address both research needs and implications for policy. A number of early career scholars who were not members of the Consortium were invited to contribute chapters. The extension of the grant allowed a meeting in New York City in May 2008 of contributors, at which summaries of chapters were presented. This meeting contributed greatly to the overall quality of the volume.

The fourth and fifth aims of the Consortium have been dealt with as we have discussed other aspects of the collaborative work. In fact, it is impossible to list all the publications of all consortium members influenced by their participation because for many it would involve listing all of their publications during the past 10 years. However, the following publications were produced by the Consortium:

Sherrod, L. R., Flanagan, C., Kassimir, R., & Bertelsen, A. (Edss.). (2005). Youth activism: An international encyclopedia. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Sherrod, L. R., Flanagan, C., & Youniss, J. (Eds.). (2002). Growing into citizenship: Multiple pathways and diverse influences. A special issue of Applied Developmental Science, 6(4).

Sherrod, L. R., Torney-Purta, J., & Flanagan, C. (2010). Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

The idea for the Handbook was hatched and a skeleton outline created at a meeting of the Consortium about midpoint in its history. Authors then met at a meeting in May 2008, and presented preliminary drafts of the papers; and the current editorship trio was formed. Subsequently, a number of chapters were added to round out the coverage. Not every member of the Consortium was able to contribute a chapter but no one dropped out after their initial commitment. Quite the contrary, almost everyone we contacted to contribute a chapter willingly agreed to do so.

When chapter drafts were received, the first and third editors read each one and offered comments to the authors. This review particularly addressed the extent to which the chapter addressed multidisciplinary, international, or policy issues. These same two editors then read revisions and if no further substantive change was merited, the chapter was read by the second editor who reviewed at a more fine-grained level, checking for style, overlap across chapters, and so forth.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are numerous folks to thank. Patricia (Tisha) Rossi at Wiley was tremendously patient and understanding, and offered a wealth of information and advice. Anne Perdue on the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) staff provided absolutely invaluable administrative support helping us keep track of different versions of each chapter and generally staying on task. Robert Granger and Ed Seidman at the William T. Grant Foundation were heroic in allowing us to extend the Consortium grant to probably the longest in Foundation history, and Sharon Brewster deserves a big thank-you for dealing with the administrative headaches this inevitably created. Finally, we thank each author for tolerating our obsessive and constant requests for more work.

INTRODUCTION

Research on the Development of Citizenship: A Field Comes of Age

LONNIE R. SHERROD Society for Research in Child Development and Fordham University

JUDITH TORNEY-PURTA University of Maryland

CONSTANCE FLANAGAN The Pennsylvania State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison

THE PUBLICATION OF a handbook signals that a field has come of age, that there is a sufficient body of research and a large enough cohort of researchers to merit a substantial summary of the field. We believe that the field of youth civic engagement has come of age. There are now numerous scholars across many disciplines and throughout the world working in this area. There have been a number of important publications. Most meetings of professional associations in psychology, education, political science, and sociology include sessions on the topic of civic engagement. Many peer-reviewed journals now have both theoretical and empirical research articles and there is a new generation of scholars from different disciplines committed to this topic. Policy-makers and practitioners are increasingly looking for research to guide their efforts because they recognize the importance to democracies of investing in the development of citizenship. In summary, audiences ranging from senior professors to graduate students, from those with policy-making responsibilities to advocates for changes in youth or education policy, from school or program administrators to teachers and youth workers, from journalists to publishers of educational materials need a handbook such as this. The fact that individuals in one discipline who study this field are often unaware of the work done by those in other disciplines is a compelling argument for this as an interdisciplinary volume.

While the field has come of age, it is still young. This is its first handbook. The senior editor of this publication used to begin every paper with a call for research on civic engagement: Functioning as a citizen is as important an adult behavior as working or raising a family, yet developmental science has until recently ignored civic engagement, focusing overwhelmingly on cognitive and social development leading to work or family formation.

There were surges of research on civic engagement or political socialization, as it has often been called, in the 1960s and early 1970s (reviewed by Flanagan & Sherrod, 1998). The second editor of this Handbook has been studying the topic since 1960, as a number of these waves of attention crested and then receded (Torney-Purta, 2009). The historical perspective is an explicit part of the chapters by Astuto and Ruck; Torney-Purta, Amadeo, and Andolina; and Higgins-D’Alessandro, while the contested nature of the meaning of citizenship and of civic education in the current globalizing era is discussed by Haste and by Kassimir and Flanagan.

It was a new wave of attention in the 1990s that resulted in the field coming of age. Many of the chapter authors comment on the worldwide upsurge in interest at this time in citizenship education and concerns about the engagement of youth as citizens. Concerns for the rights of children in international accords such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child demand attention to participation opportunities for children and youth (Ruck, Abramovitch, & Keating, 1998), and many governments have placed these rights high on their agendas (Torney-Purta, Wilkenfeld, & Barber, 2008).