Looking Across High-Impact Practices: First-Year Student Democratic Awareness and Democratic Participation

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Author(s): Weiss, H. A., & Fosnacht, K.

Citation: Weiss, H. A., & Fosnacht, K. (2018). Looking Across High-Impact Practices: First-Year Student Democratic Awareness and Democratic Participation. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 30(2), 45-64.

 

Abstract

Creating educated and informed citizens for our diverse democracy has long been one of the objectives of the U.S. educational system. Traditionally, service-learning has been the primary tool for colleges and universities to promote civic outcomes; however, other practices, particularly those requiring substantial student investments of time and energy, also hold the potential to improve civic outcomes. Using data from nearly 13,000 first-year students who responded to the National Survey of Student Engagement’s Civic Engagement module, we found that service-learning, learning communities, and research with faculty were positively and significantly correlated to two measures of democratic engagement. The results have important implications for how postsecondary institutions promote civic outcomes.

 

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