The Internet Generation: Engaged Citizens Or Political DropoutsDespite rising levels of education and mounting calls for increased democratic participation, recent years have seen a significant decline in voter turnout in many countries and the erosion of the sense of civic duty that brought earlier generations to the polls. Henry Milner looks at the United States, Canada, Britain, Scandinavia, and the European Union to probe the decline of youth voting and attentiveness to politics, drawing lessons from observations of institutions, which could break down the wall between political life and “real” life that underlies political abstention among the Internet generation. Finding civic education the key to instilling habits of attentiveness to public affairs, especially among potential political dropouts, Milner sets out a series of ways to bring the issues—and the political parties’ stance on them—to the classroom, including visits, simulations, and innovative use of media, old and new. |
Contents
Political Socialization Social Class | |
Do Young People Still Vote? | |
The Political Knowledge of Emerging Generations | |
Boosting Informed | |
The Electoral System | |
Who Should Vote and When? | |
Civic Education outside the Classrooms | |
APPENDIX Political Knowledge Questions | |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | |
INDEX | |
Other editions - View all
The Internet Generation: Engaged Citizens Or Political Dropouts Henry Milner No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed 5 October activities adults aged eighteen American Political Science attitudes average Barack Obama campaign Canadian Canadian federal elections candidates chapter civic education civic engagement Civic Learning civic literacy civics courses civil society compared compulsory voting decline deliberative deliberative polls Democracy democratic developed differences discussion ECPR effect Elections Canada electoral system eligible Engagement circle especially European Social Survey Finland fixed election dates groups informed political participation interest International idea Internet Learning and Engagement less levels of political Milner mobilization networks newspapers Obama Ontario overall Paper presented parliamentary percent percentage points political information political institutions political knowledge questions political parties Political Science Political Science Association political socialization polls Quebec relationship reported Research on Civic respondents September 2009 Sweden television United Kingdom University Press voter turnout voting age young citizens youth political participation youth turnout