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Annual Review of Political Science

Volume 25, 2022

Education and Political Participation

Abstract

Whether education affects political participation is a long-standing and central question in political philosophy and political science. In this review, we provide an overview of the three main theoretical models that explain different causal pathways. We then synthesize the surge in research using causal inference strategies and show that this literature has generated mixed results about the causal impact of education, even when using similar methods and data. These findings do not provide clear support for any of the three theories. Our next section covers research on civic education and political participation. The quantity of civic education matters little for political participation, but how civic education is taught does matter. Namely, strategies falling under the rubric of active learning show promise. These strategies seem especially effective for historically marginalized students. Our final section calls for more research on how civic education is taught.

Keyword(s): active learning, civic education, education, political participation
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-014235
2022-05-12
2024-04-18
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-014235
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Education and Political Participation
Annual Review of Political Science 25, 89 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-014235
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-014235
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-014235
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  • Article Type: Review Article

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