Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Participatory practices and political knowledge: how motivational inequality moderates the effects of formal participation on knowledge

  • Published:
Social Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Democracies rely upon politically knowledgeable citizens for their legitimacy and to sustain themselves. In Australia, policy initiatives have addressed concerns about the low levels of political knowledge among young people. Yet research about how young Australians acquire political knowledge, beyond schools, is scarce. The present study referring to the concepts of situated learning, self-determination and knowledge gap, asks whether young adult’s participatory practices (e.g., participation in politics, prior involvement in decision-making at school) predict political knowledge. Analyses that control for multiple predictors of political knowledge suggest differential associations between political knowledge and different participatory practices. Motivational inequality, as defined by interest in politics, moderates the associations with party-political participation and participation at school; the conditional effect of party-related political participation is further moderated by educational resources. Gendered differences are identified for some participatory practices. Directions for future research and the importance of participatory experiences and how to establish a foundation of young citizens’ political knowledge are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. This element would exclude voting in elections in the Australian context where voting is mandatory.

  2. It is noteworthy that only a total of 91 young adults born between 1992 and 1997 were surveyed over a period of four months in the AES 2016 (one of those respondents was not enrolled to vote; McAllister et al. 2016).

  3. Similarly, 60 out of the 91 responses from young adults between 19 and 24 years of age in the AES 2016 were collected online, whereas 59.3% of the responses from older Australians were collected by means of a hard copy (McAllister et al. 2016).

References

  • Ainley, J., Gebhardt, E., & Schulz, W. (2018). Indicators of engagement among lower secondary students in international comparison. New York: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2017). NAP sample assessment. Civics and citizenship report. Years 6 and 10. Sydney: ACARA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). (2015). Annual report 2014–15. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, M. (2017). Young people’s civic and political engagement and global citizenship. In UN chronicle, LIV(4).

  • Bean, C., McAllister, I., Pietsch, J., & Gibson, R. K. (2014). Australian Election Study (AES), 2013. Study documentation. Version 1.0. Canberra.

  • Brambor, T., Clark, W. R., & Golder, M. (2006). Understanding interaction models: Improving empirical analyses. Political Analysis,14(1), 63–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Civics Expert Group. (1994). Whereas the people… Civics and citizenship education. Canberra: AGPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L. (1992). The relation of interest to the motivation of behavior. A self-determination theory perspective. In K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 43–70). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, M. X. (2000). In search of the informed citizen: What Americans know about politics and why it matters. Communication Review,4(1), 129–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, M. X., & Keeter, S. (1996). What Americans know about politics and why it matters. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, J., & Amnå, E. (2012). Political participation and civic engagement. Towards a new typology. Human Affairs,22(3), 283–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, M., & Stoker, G. (2016). Political participation in Australia. Contingency in the behaviour and attitudes of citizens. Australian Journal of Political Science,51(2), 272–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraile, M., & Iyengar, S. (2014). Not all news sources are equally informative. A cross-national analysis of political knowledge in Europe. International Journal of Press/Politics,19(3), 275–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallego, A., & Oberski, D. (2012). Personality and political participation: The mediation hypothesis. Political Behavior,34(3), 425–451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galston, W. A. (2001). Political knowledge, political engagement, and civic education. Annual Review of Political Science,4, 217–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geboers, E., Geijsel, F., Admiraal, W., & ten Dam, G. (2015). Citizenship orientations and knowledge in primary and secondary education. Social Psychology of Education, 18(4), 749–767.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, R. K., & McAllister, I. (2015). New media, elections and the political knowledge gap in Australia. Journal of Sociology,51(2), 337–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, A., Wyn, J., & Younes, S. (2010). Beyond apathetic or activist youth. ‘Ordinary’ young people and contemporary forms of participation. Young,18(1), 9–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, Y., & Jeong, S.-H. (2009). Revisiting the knowledge gap hypothesis: A meta-analysis of thirty-five years of research. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly,86(3), 513–532.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. K. (1996). Political knowledge over time and across generations. Public Opinion Quarterly,60(2), 228–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. K. (2015). The dynamics of good citizenship norms. In T. Poguntke, S. Roßteutscher, R. Schmitt-Beck, & S. Zmerli (Eds.), Citizenship and democracy in an era of crisis. Essays in honour of Jan W. van Deth (pp. 93–111). Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. K., & Niemi, R. G. (1981). Generations and politics. A panel study of young adults and their parents. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, P. E. (2009). What knowledge is of most worth? In E. Borgida, C. M. Federico, & J. L. Sullivan (Eds.), The political psychology of democratic citizenship (pp. 52–70). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahne, J., Crow, D., & Lee, N.-J. (2013). Different pedagogy, different politics: High school learning opportunities and youth political engagement. Political Psychology,34(3), 419–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keating, A., Kerr, D., Benton, T., Mundy, E., & Lopes, J. (2010). Citizenship education in England 2001–2010: young people’s practices and prospects for the future: The eighth and final report from the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (CELS). Research Report DFE-RR059.

  • Kwak, N. (1999). Revisiting the knowledge gap hypothesis. Education, motivation, and media use. Communication Research,26(4), 385–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y.-I., & Eveland, W. P., Jr. (2005). Education, need for cognition, and campaign interest as moderators of news effects on political knowledge. An analysis of the knowledge gap. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly,82(4), 910–929.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, I. (2016). Internet use, political knowledge and youth electoral participation in Australia. Journal of Youth Studies,19(9), 1220–1236.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, I., Bean, C., Pietsch, J., & Gibson, R. K. (2014). Australian Election Study (AES), 2013. Computer file. Canberra: Australian Data Archive, The Australian National University.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, I., Makkai, T., Bean, C., & Gibson, R. K. (2016). Australian Election Study (AES), 2016. Computer file. Canberra: Australian Data Archive, The Australian National University.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDevitt, M., & Kiousis, S. (2006). Experiments in political socialization. Kids Voting USA as a model for civic education reform. CIRCLE working paper.

  • McIntosh, H., Hart, D., & Youniss, J. (2007). The influence of family political discussion on youth civic development. Which parent qualities matter? PS: Political Science & Politics,40, 495–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh, H., & Youniss, J. (2010). Toward a political theory of political socialization of youth. In L. R. Sherrod, J. Torney-Purta, & C. A. Flanagan (Eds.), Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth (pp. 23–41). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Melbourne: MCEETYA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mondak, J. J. (2010). Personality and the foundations of political behavior. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers, P., & Vickers, N. (no date). Australian Election Study (AES): September 2013–January 2014. Technical report. <http://nesstar.ada.edu.au//ADAData/reports/ADA.REPORT.01259.pdf>. Consulted March 24, 2017.

  • Niemi, R. G., & Junn, J. (1998). Civic education. What makes students learn. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohme, J., de Vreese, C. H., & Albæk, E. (2018). From theory to practice. How to apply van Deth’s conceptual map in empirical political participation research. Acta Politica,53(3), 367–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Print, M. (2007). Citizenship education and youth participation in democracy. British Journal of Educational Studies,55(3), 325–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Print, M. (2009). Civic engagement and political education of young people. Minority Studies,1(3), 63–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Print, M. (2017). The recent history of teaching civics and citizenship education in Australia 1989–2015. In A. Peterson & L. Tudball (Eds.), Civics and citizenship education in Australia. Challenges, practices and international perspectives (pp. 7–22). London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quintelier, E., & Hooghe, M. (2012). Political attitudes and political participation: A panel study on socialization and self-selection effects among late adolescents. International Political Science Review,33(1), 63–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quintelier, E., & van Deth, J. W. (2014). Supporting democracy. Political participation and political attitudes. Exploring causality using panel data. Political Studies,62(1), 153–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F. (2016a). How internal political efficacy translates political knowledge into political participation: Evidence from Germany. Europe’s Journal of Psychology,12(2), 221–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F. (2016b). Students’ perceptions of good citizenship. A person-centred approach. Social Psychology of Education,19(3), 661–693.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F. (2016c). Who is the engaged citizen? Correlates of secondary school students’ concepts of good citizenship. Educational Research and Evaluation,22(5–6), 305–332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F. (2018). How important are political interest and efficacy in the prediction of political participation? Longitudinal evidence from Germany. International Journal of Social Psychology,33(3), 459–503.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F., Chen, J., & Torney-Purta, J. (2018). Profiles of adolescents’ perceptions of democratic classroom climate and students’ influence: The effect of school and community contexts. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,47(6), 1279–1298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F., & Print, M. (2017). Mediated and moderated effects of political communication on civic participation. Information, Communication & Society,20(8), 1162–1184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, F., & Print, M. (2018). Civic participation of high school students. The effect of civic learning in school. Educational Review,70(3), 318–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resh, N., & Sabbagh, C. (2017). Sense of justice in school and civic behavior. Social Psychology of Education,20(2), 387–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saha, L. J., & Print, M. (2010). Student school elections and political engagement: A cradle of democracy? International Journal of Educational Research,49(1), 22–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoon, I., & Mortimer, J. (2017). Youth and the great recession. Are values, achievement orientation and outlook to the future affected? International Journal of Psycholoy,52(1), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., Agrusti, G., & Friedman, T. (2017). Becoming citizens in a changing world. IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 international report. Amsterdam: IEA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolle, D., & Gidengil, E. (2010). What do women really know? A gendered analysis of varieties of political knowledge. Perspectives on Politics,8(1), 93–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Deth, J. W. (1990). Interest in politics. In K. M. Jennings, J. W. van Deth, S. H. Barnes, D. Fuchs, F. J. Heunks, R. Inglehart, et al. (Eds.), Continuities in political action. A longitudinal study of political orientations in three western democracies (pp. 275–312). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Deth, J. W. (2014). A conceptual map of political participation. Acta Politica,49(3), 349–367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vromen, A. (1995). Paul Keating is the prime minister, but who delivers the mail? A study of political knowledge amongst young people. Australian Journal of Political Science,30(1), 74–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vromen, A. (2003). People try to put us down …’: Participatory citizenship of ‘Generation X. Australian Journal of Political Science,38(1), 79–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vromen, A., & Collin, P. (2010). Everyday youth participation? Contrasting views from Australian policymakers and young people. Young,18(1), 97–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wattenberg, M. P. (2008). Is voting for young people? New York: Pearson Longman.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was funded in part by the Australian Research Council (Grant Number DP 120103057).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Room 217, Runme Shaw Building, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Frank Reichert

  2. Chair of Education, Sydney School of Education and Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney, Education Building A35, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Murray Print

Authors
  1. Frank Reichert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Murray Print
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank Reichert.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Reichert, F., Print, M. Participatory practices and political knowledge: how motivational inequality moderates the effects of formal participation on knowledge. Soc Psychol Educ 22, 1085–1108 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09514-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09514-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation