It has been conventional to conceptualize civic life through one of two core images: the citizen as lone individualist or the citizen as joiner. Drawing on analyses of the historical development of the public sphere, we propose an alternative analytical framework for civic engagement based on small group interaction. By embracing this micro-level approach, we contribute to the debate on civil s...

This exploratory study examines civic engagement with e-government via Web sites. It provides an analytical framework that integrates both the supply and the demand sides of citizen interaction with e-government. In modeling three dimensions of online civic engagement (government information access, service transactions, and contributing to government policy-making processes), the study framewo...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the levels of participation in social and civic community life in a metropolitan region, and to assess differential levels of participation according to demographic, socioeconomic and health status. To contribute to policy debates on community participation, social capital and health using these empirical data. DESIGN Cross sectional, postal, self completed survey...

How can educators leverage blogs and other social media spaces to encourage a reflective, critical discourse about civic engagement that fosters a true learning exchange over promoting one’s own ideas? This article reports upon a single case study of the “Community Engagement Learning Exchange,” a multi-author blog on civic engagement. Through qualitative content analysis and expert interviews ...

Are There Civic Returns to Education? " …since the achievement of American Independence, the universal and ever-repeated argument in favor of Free Schools has been, that the general intelligence which they are capable of diffusing, and which can be imparted by no other human instrumentality, is indispensable to a republican form of government. " Horace Mann (1846) INTRODUCTION Economists typica...

Previous research demonstrates two aspects of religion that affect civic activity—church participation and religious conservatism. Conservative religious beliefs and membership in conservative denominations are often associated with low levels of civic activity while church participation is said to increase civic activity. This article advances the discussion of the relationship between religio...

PURPOSE Past research has demonstrated the importance of civic engagement for older adults, yet previous studies have not focused specifically on the potential benefits of civic engagement for older adults with functional limitations. This pilot study explored the feasibility and effectiveness of an intervention designed to promote civic engagement in this growing and often overlooked populatio...

Political behavior at work often is disparaged as self-serving activity that undermines the efficient pursuit of organizational goals. Yet politics has a more benign meaning as well: responsible participation in decision-making processes, keeping informed, and promoting innovative ideas that serve long-term organizational interests. To date, the negative image of organizational politics among m...

This study examines the challenges and the expectations that civic hackers bring to the use of open government data, building on Gurstein’s theory of barriers to effective use. Civic hackers are hobbyists, freelancers, and professionals who use open government data for products and social good applications. Drawing on individual interviews and a focus group with fifteen total civic hackers in S...

Mark Hugo Lopez is research director at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (www.civicyouth.org, CIRCLE). He is also a research assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs. He received his PhD in economics from Princeton University in 1996. His work concentrates on youth civic engagement, language policy, and bilingual educat...