The Civic Value of Education: How Scholastic Experiences Create Active Citizens

Abstract

Political scientists have long recognized educational attainment as a strong predictor of voter turnout, but the mechanisms through which educational experiences lead voters to the polls remain underexplored. This research begins to open this proverbial black box to understand the specific types of scholastic experiences that encourage voting. Grounded in previous findings by scholars of policy feedback and political socialization, a mix of qualitative and quantitative data analyses reveal that nonacademic high school experiences can have powerful and lasting interpretive effects. Participants in performance and service-based extracurricular activities are consistently recognized for their efforts and connected to their communities, leading to interpretations of dignity, efficacy, and civic duty. As a result, these young Americans are more likely than their peers to vote in early adulthood. Further analyses uncover critical effects based on socioeconomic status: many interpretive educational experiences have more profound impacts on the voting behaviors of young citizens who may lack opportunities for positive political socialization in their home and social environments. Unfortunately, those young Americans whose participatory behaviors could be most impacted by uplifting extracurricular experiences are also least likely to have access to and participate in these programs, a gap that may have been exacerbated during the recent pandemic.