On the Margins of Democratic Life: The Impact of Race and Ethnicity on the Political Engagement of Young People

23 Pages·0.111 MB·English

by  Fridkin Kim L., Kenney Patrick J., Crittenden Jack.

American Politics Research
http://apr.sagepub.com
On the Margins of Democratic Life: The Impact of Race and
Ethnicity on the Political Engagement of Young People
Kim L. Fridkin, Patrick J. Kenney and Jack Crittenden
American Politics Research 2006; 34; 605
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X06289158
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http://apr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/5/605
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American Politics Research
Volume 34 Number 5
September 2006 605-626
On the Margins © 2006 Sage Publications
10.1177/1532673X06289158
http://apr.sagepub.com
of Democratic Life
hosted at
http://online.sagepub.com
The Impact of Race and Ethnicity
on the Political Engagement of Young People
Kim L. Fridkin
Patrick J. Kenney
Jack Crittenden
Arizona State University,Tempe
The authors surveyed Anglo,African American,Latino,and Native American
eighth-grade students in six middle schools from one U.S. county in 2003
and 2004. The goal of the project was to compare the attitudes of young
people about politics and government at an early age to determine whether
differences existed before high school. The authors found that minority and
Anglo children differ dramatically in their skills and information levels about
politics and government. Anglo adolescents are more likely to have rudi-
mentary information about politics and government, practice democratic
skills in school and at home,and hold positive attitudes toward politics and
government. Among minority students, Native Americans have the least
information,fewest opportunities to practice democratic skills,and most neg-
ative attitudes toward the political system. The authors also found that
children’s political experiences, captured by their ethnicity and race, affect
their levels of political information and attitudes about government, after
controlling for students’family and school resources.
Keywords: political engagement; adolescence; political knowledge; par-
ticipation; race and ethnic politics; political socialization
We gathered 10 eighth grade students for a 30-minute discussion about
politics and civic life in the United States. The students attended an
integrated public school in metropolitan Phoenix. Six were minority
Authors’Note:The data for this article were collected with support from an Arizona State
University Multi-Investigator Proposal Development Grant. An earlier version of this article
was delivered at the 2004 American Political Science Association Meeting,Chicago,IL.
605
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606 American Politics Research
students and 4 wereAnglo.Among other things, we asked them, “Will you
votewhenyouturn18?”Sixkidsansweredyesenthusiasticallyand4replied
noemphatically.Thestudentswhosaidnowereallminoritywomen;3 were
African American and 1 was Hispanic. When we pressed the young women
for reasons for not voting, they replied, “We’re not interested in politics,”
“Voting is not worth it,” “All of the candidates stink.” A fellow Anglo
student pushed her peers,“What if one candidate was terrible and the other
one was really good—would you vote then?”“No,”they replied,“not even
then—voting is meaningless.”
In sharp contrast,we talked with 12 eighth grade,public school students,
6 boys and 6 girls,about the same topics—but their school was in an afflu-
ent suburb of Phoenix. Eleven of the students were Anglo,and 1 was Asian.
“Will you vote when you turn 18?”we asked; all replied yes instantly and
ardently. When we pressed the students for reasons for voting,they replied,
“This is a democracy,and it’s important to vote,”“Voting is how our voices
are heard,” “If you don’t vote you can’t have a say in what’s going on,”
“Voting is the way to make important choices about who will lead the
nation,” “Compared with many nations around the world, we are lucky to
have the chance to vote—we want to use it.”
Although these conversations are only illustrative, the remarks of these
young people reflect a permanent feature of political and civic life in the
United States. Currently,the burdens and benefits of democratic participa-
tion fall disproportionately on an unrepresentative subset of Americans,
those who are “well-educated and well-heeled and . . . White and male”
(Verba,Schlozman,& Brady,1995,p. 2). In fact,some of the most reliable
and accurate predictors of adult civic engagement and participation are
race,ethnicity,and gender (Burns,Schlozman,& Verba,2001; Verba et al.,
1995). The voice of Anglo males is far more likely to be heard across a
range of measures of democratic participation than any other combination
of demographic characteristics.
Nonetheless, it is startling to hear firsthand that some young people
already feel that they are on the margins of democratic life. In fact, it
appears that the desire to engage in politics is already forming at the tender
age of 14. Prior to going to high school,prior to driving a car,and prior to
holding a part-time job, young kids articulate, with conviction, a range of
attitudes about politics and government in the United States. What set of
forces conspire to keep young people from participating in politics? How
early in life do these forces begin to take shape? Are these forces a product
of the children’s school environment, home life, or experiences related to
their race and ethnicity?
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Fridkin et al. / Political Engagement of Young People 607
Theoretical Explanations
To understand why political engagement among adolescents varies
along racial and ethnic lines,it is necessary to examine adolescents’access
to resources and their political experiences. Resources are the centerpiece
of theories and models of civic engagement, irrespective of whether
researchers are explaining participation and engagement of adults (Nie,
Junn, & Stehlik-Barry, 1996; Verba et al., 1995) or children (Jennings &
Niemi, 1974; Niemi & Junn, 1998). Resources, especially education and
income, are related to higher civic engagement because they produce the
skills necessary to negotiate the political process (Verba et al., 1995;
Wolfinger & Rosenstone, 1980); they generate social capital and social
connectedness in communities (Puttnam,2000); they provide citizens with
a “stake in the outcome”of elections,legislative decisions,and bureaucratic
regulations (Rosenstone & Hanson, 1993; Verba et al., 1995); and they
yield psychological attitudes linked to engagement (e.g.,civic duty; Miller
& Shanks,1995; Wolfinger & Rosenstone,1980).
For adolescents,access to resources is determined largely by their home
environment. And, in the United States, family resources, such as income
and educational opportunities, vary dramatically along racial and ethnic
lines (Brandolini & Smeeding,2006). For example,data from the 2000 cen-
sus shows that only 10% of Anglos live at or below the poverty line,
whereas 24% of African Americans and Native Americans and 22% of
Latinos live in poverty (Gutierrez, Sampson, & Cooper, 2005). Similarly,
census data indicate that 26% of Anglos have a college degree, whereas
only 14% of African Americans, 10% of Latinos, and 11% of Native
Americans hold a college degree (Bauman & Graf,2003).
Family resources are a fundamental element for understanding the polit-
ical engagement of children. To begin,parents with higher levels of educa-
tion will be more influential at transmitting requisite political skills to their
children. For example,educated parents may spend more time watching the
news and talking with their children about current events.
Families with higher incomes,in addition,have more political informa-
tion in their homes. For example,wealthier families are more likely to sub-
scribe to a national news magazine,have Internet access,and receive a daily
newspaper. Access to these media sources is likely to increase the students’
skills at understanding politics and their exposure to political content.
Adolescents’ access to resources is also determined by the quality of
their schools. And schools,because funding mechanisms are based primar-
ily on property taxes,vary dramatically in terms of resources. In particular,
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608 American Politics Research
some schools have first-class facilities,experienced teachers,and state-of-
the-art technology. Other schools,in contrast,have limited space,outdated
facilities,teachers with little experience or background,old textbooks,and
outmoded technology. In the United States,the quality of schools covaries
with race and ethnicity. For example, in a recent report from the Civil
Rights Project at Harvard, the authors concluded that the nation’s schools
have become “balkanized” by race, ethnicity, and poverty (Frankenberg,
Lee, & Orfield, 2003). The non-White schools “are often schools where
enormous poverty, limited resources, and social and health problems of
many types are concentrated”(Frankenberg,Lee,& Orfield,2003,p. 5).
Resource-rich schools may provide “apprenticeships” to help students
develop the skills necessary for political activism. In addition, well-off
school districts provide numerous opportunities for students to practice
how to interface with government. In these schools, students can develop
critical thinking, writing, listening, and speaking skills; students can learn
to organize groups and work in teams; and students can practice those skills
as they seek to identify and address political problems, large and small,
within their schools and within their communities. It takes time and prac-
tice to convert these skills into political activism.
On the other hand,schools strapped for resources are less likely to ded-
icate time and teacher preparation to develop a curriculum that includes
opportunities to practice democratic interaction. These schools lack the
necessary economic resources to execute effective programs in civic edu-
cation, such as educational preparedness of teachers, high-quality text-
books, and contact with the political world via the Internet, television, or
personal interaction. We expect that differences in family and school
resources will produce significant differences in the civic preparedness of
minority and Anglo youth. In particular, we expect that minority students
will have fewer opportunities at home and at school to practice democratic
skills. And because minority students will be less likely to develop democ-
ratic skills (e.g.,talking about politics with their parents),we expect minor-
ity youth to lag behind their Anglo counterparts with regard to their
acquisition of political information.
Although we expect differences in the resources of minority and Anglo
adolescents to produce ethnic and racial differences in civic preparedness,
we also hypothesize that the experiences of minority children will produce
political attitudes that discourage civic engagement. We know from
research in electoral behavior that people’s level of trust in government,
their sense of political efficacy, and their level of civic duty are strongly
related to the desire and willingness to participate in politics (Conway,
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Fridkin et al. / Political Engagement of Young People 609
1991; Gant & Luttbeg, 1991). And we also know that these attitudes
develop during the life cycle and are sharply influenced by people’s expe-
riences with government, both directly and vicariously through families
and friends (Jennings & Niemi,1981).
In the United States, an unwillingness to participate in government
covaries with race and ethnicity. These attitudes are likely to begin forming
in childhood as minority children learn about the historical interactions
between government and their own racial or ethnic group (Phinney,Romero,
Nava,& Huang,2001).1More specifically,children’s attitudes about engag-
ing in politics are developed against a background of discrimination and
segregation. Minority groups in this country, such as African Americans,
Native Americans, and Mexican Americans, have faced withering and
sustained government-sanctioned discrimination well into the 20th century.
Decades of discriminatory practices by all levels of government,but espe-
cially by state and local governments,have been leveled against these three
groups. Legislation and regulatory actions have for decades systematically
segregated these groups from the Anglo population in the areas of housing
(Montejano, 1987; Myrdal, 1964), schools (Meier & Stewart, 1991), and
politics (J. A. Garcia,2003; Key,1949; Litwak,1998).2
In the arena of political participation,especially voting,minorities have
been routinely disenfranchised by English literacy tests, White primaries,
poll taxes, and intimidation and violence (Crow, 1971; de la Garza, 1979;
Schockley, 1974). Although government-sanctioned segregation and the
political banishment of African Americans,Mexican Americans,and Native
Americans ended between the 1950s and 1980s, the legacy of these
practices lives on in the beliefs and behaviors of members of these groups.
The intensity and enduring nature of this kind of deprivation breeds
mistrust in and alienation from all levels of government,and these feelings
are passed down across generations (Rosenstone & Hanson, 1993; Verba
et al.,1995).3
Adolescent minorities are far less sanguine about government than are
their Anglo counterparts (Abramson, 1977; Baldi et al., 2001; Gimpel,
Lay,& Schuknecht,2003; Niemi & Chapman,1998; Lake,Snell,Perry,&
Associates,2002).4The parents of these minority children continue to har-
bor feelings of ill will toward government, and parents are likely to pass
these views to their children (e.g.,the government’s response to Hurricane
Katrina). Also, the retrenchment of several government programs (e.g.,
affirmative action and bilingual education) serving the interests of minority
youth may sour the minority children’s views of government.5 Given dif-
ferences in the political experiences of minority and Anglo youth, we
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610 American Politics Research
expect African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans to have more
negative views of the political system.
In summary,given ethnic and racial differences in resources and experi-
ences, we offer the following hypotheses. First, differences in school and
home resources will lead minority youth to have fewer opportunities to
develop and practice democratic skills, especially compared with Anglo
youth. For example, these students will be less likely to talk with their
parents about politics, and they will also have fewer opportunities to
develop skills at schools, such as giving a speech. Second, differences in
access to resources will produce racial and ethnic differences in political
knowledge,with Latino,African American,and Native American students
demonstrating lower levels of political information, compared with their
Anglo counterparts. Finally,ethnic and racial differences in political expe-
riences will lead minority youth to be less attached to the political system.
For example, they will exhibit lower levels of trust in government, civic
duty,and political efficacy,and they will be less attached to the major polit-
ical parties,compared with Anglo youth.
To test these hypotheses, we examined 14-year-old adolescents from
four racial and ethnic groups, Anglos, Latinos, African Americans, and
Native Americans. To date, ours is the first examination of these four
groups simultaneously as young people cross the threshold to high school.
We turn now to a discussion of our design.
Design
We interviewed Anglo,African American,Latino,and Native American
eighth grade students in 2003 and 2004. We interviewed children in six
middle schools in Maricopa County, Arizona: one was predominantly
middle-class Anglos (72% Anglo), one was predominantly working-class
Anglos (71% Anglo), one was predominantly Hispanic (85% Hispanic),
one was predominantly African American (75% African American), one
was exclusively Native American (100% Native American), and one was
integrated (41% Anglo,27% Hispanic,7% African American,22% Native
American). The schools were selected by stratifying by race,ethnicity,and
resources and drawing one school randomly from each stratum.6
We examined eighth graders for several reasons. First,our survey of the
population of middle schools in Maricopa County shows that the vast
majority of middle schools require civics courses in eighth grade.7
Therefore, by interviewing students near the end of the eighth grade, we
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Fridkin et al. / Political Engagement of Young People 611
were measuring students when they have nearly completed their first for-
mal course in civics. Second,in eighth grade,students’views about politics
are still developing, with few students having crystallized attitudes about
politics (e.g., Sears & Valentino, 1997; Torney-Purta & Amadeo, 2003;
Torney-Purta, Lehmann, Oswald, & Schulz, 2001; Valentino & Sears,
1998). In addition,eighth grade students are discovering their identities and
are beginning to understand their roles in their communities (Tolo,1998).
Maricopa County is an appropriate setting for our study for several
reasons. First, Maricopa County is a large metropolitan area (population
approximately 3.5 million). Second, on several important dimensions, the
demographic characteristics of Maricopa County mirror the demographics
of the nation. For example, 75% of the population of the United States is
Anglo,and 66% of the population of Maricopa County is Anglo; the mean
per capita income for U.S. residents is $21,587, whereas the mean per
capita income for Maricopa County is $22,251; the percentage of high
school graduates is 80% for the United States and 82% for Maricopa
County; 18% of people in the United States and 26% of Maricopa County
residents speak a language other than English in their homes; and 14% of
the United States and 12% of the population of Maricopa County live below
the poverty level.
In addition, Maricopa County has a large number of minorities, espe-
cially Hispanics and Native Americans, allowing us to examine several
ethnic groups simultaneously. Of the population of Maricopa County,25%
is Hispanic,making Maricopa County one of the largest population centers
for Hispanic citizens. In addition,Maricopa County has the second largest
number of Native Americans (75,900) in the country.8
In drawing our sample, we made efforts to ensure variance on our key
independent and dependent variables. Our main challenge was to try to
untangle the impact of race and ethnicity from resources. In Maricopa
County,as in the United States more generally,race and ethnicity are strongly
correlated with economic resources. The vast majority of Hispanics,African
Americans, and Native Americans live in the poorest neighborhoods and
attend the most disadvantaged schools. Therefore, it is extremely difficult
to control for resources among the minority students without drawing very
large samples (i.e., in the tens of thousands).9 We can, however, capture
some variance by sampling Anglo students from both working-class
schools and from affluent schools. Thus, we can compare working-class
Anglos to middle-class Anglos to see whether these groups of students dif-
fer in their political skills and political information. And by comparing
these two groups of Anglos with Hispanics,African Americans,and Native
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612 American Politics Research
Americans from poor backgrounds, we can begin to investigate how
experiences and resources influence minority and Anglo students’acquisi-
tion of rudimentary information,their opportunities to practice democratic
skills,and their attachment to the political system.10
Students filled out in-class questionnaires that inquired about their infor-
mation on politics and government, their psychological attachment to
politics, their school activities related to politics, their views on current
affairs and contemporary political figures, and their demographic charac-
teristics.11 Questionnaires were presented in English and Spanish during a
class period. We received completed questionnaires from 439 middle
school students.
The in-class survey has distinct advantages over a telephone survey.
First,it is much more efficient to have a class of 25 to 35 students complete
the questionnaire during a single class period than to try to track and com-
plete telephone interviews with individual students. Second,students of dif-
ferent ethnic and racial backgrounds differ in their likelihood of having
telephone service in their homes. Therefore, we would underrepresent
minority groups relying solely on telephone interviews.12
To increase student participation in our pilot, we offered students an
incentive to participate. Students who completed questionnaires received a
$5.00 movie pass. This incentive,according to each of the teachers helping
with our study,was an effective inducement for participation. Overall,com-
pletion of the survey with the inducement ranged from 75% to 90%.13
As expected, we found that schools with large minority populations
tended to have the poorest student body. In each of the minority schools,
more than half of the students participated in the federal school lunch
program. In the middle-class Anglo school, only 12% of the students par-
ticipated in this federal program, whereas three times as many students
(36%) participated in the school lunch program at the working-class Anglo
school.
The schools with large minority populations also had fewer resources.
For example,teachers in the minority schools had less experience and less
education than did teachers in the Anglo schools. In the schools with large
minority populations,no school had more than 40% of the teachers with a
master’s degree. However,in the middle-class school with a predominantly
Anglo population, 50% of the teachers had at least a master’s degree, and
in the Anglo working-class school, 60% of the teachers had at least a
master’s degree.
The students’academic skills,as measured by the students’performance
on standardized tests, also varied by race, ethnicity, and income. In the
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Fridkin et al. / Political Engagement of Young People 613
poorest schools, reading and language skills were below grade level. For
example, in the middle school with the large Hispanic population, eighth
graders scored at the 34th percentile for reading (i.e.,66% of the students in
the country scored higher than these students on this standardized test). At the
school with the large African American population, students scored at the
23rd percentile in reading, and in the Native American school, students
scored at the 27th percentile in reading. By comparison, students did much
better in the two predominantly Anglo schools. In the school with a large
Anglo working-class population, students scored at the 65th percentile in
reading,and in the school with predominantly middle-class Anglo students,
students scored somewhat higher,reaching the 72nd percentile in reading.
Results
We hypothesized that students’access to resources will influence their
opportunities to practice democratic activities in school and at home. To test
this hypothesis,we asked students whether they had opportunities in school
to give speeches or to try to persuade others of their views.14In addition,we
asked students about their participation in “instrumental” school activities
(e.g.,working on their school newspaper,participating on the debate team,
working on the school yearbook) because these activities are related to
future political involvement (Glanville, 1999).15 Based on these three indi-
cators,we developed an index of school skills,ranging from 0 to 3.
To measure the practice of democratic activities at home, we asked
students how often they talked with their parents about politics because
political discussion is an important political skill (Hahn, 1998).16We also
asked students how often they read the newspaper and watched local and
national news.17
In Table 1,we present the relationship between the practice of democra-
tic skills for minority and Anglo youth. Anglos from middle-class families
have the greatest opportunity to develop democratic skills in school. The
differences in school skills among the middle-class Anglos and Latino,
African American,and Native American youth are statistically significant.18
Similarly, working-class Anglos are given more opportunities to give a
speech, persuade others, and participate in instrumental activities, com-
pared with African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos.19 Finally,
among the minority students,Native Americans lag behind their Latino and
African American counterparts, with Native American students having
significantly fewer opportunities in school to develop civic skills.20
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