In Table 8, we explore this possibility by examining those over 35 and under 35 in separate models. In Table 8 we rerun models 1 and 2 separately for those under 35 and those over What we are looking for is evidence that some variables work differently for the younger group compared with the older group.
What we observe is that in the over models, very few socialization factors appear significant, outside one's spouse's political behaviour which is highly significant. The level of voting in one's network is significant in the first model, but loses significance when we control for knowledge and interest. The under models, by contrast, show effects for all of the socialization variables that were significant in Table 7. Furthermore, there is some evidence that civic education classes have a positive effect on voting model 1 by increasing knowledge and interest model 2, where civic education loses significance.
Some caution needs to be used in comparing these models, because the over age group has a small number of cases. It could be that the non-significant effects are simply a function of sample size and that they would appear in a larger sample. For now, then, these findings are more suggestive than conclusive, but they are consistent with the idea that socializing forces should be more important to citizens who have yet to develop long-standing political attitudes or behaviours.
The extent to which traditional forms have been replaced by other forms of civic engagement, like volunteering, protest politics, online activism or political consumerism, remains contested in the literature Gidengil et al.
As young people's voting levels have dropped over time, some have questioned whether they are simply turning to other, newer forms of participation. Table 9 provides an overview of the various ways in which respondents in the NYS participated. Furthermore, young people also participated as much, and sometimes more, than those over 35 in a variety of other forms of participation. The question becomes whether such activities replace voting, or if they are simply another expression of politically involved citizens who tend to vote and engage in other ways.
Interest, political knowledge, and the various social influences that we have discussed in this paper are all related to various forms of participation, not just voting. For example, those who have a lot of political discussion in their networks are also more likely to participate in various other activities. Civic education also tends to be related to more participation overall, not just more voting.
Footnote 2. When we create an index of these various forms of participation excluding voting and include it in the full model, as we did in Table 7, we see that overall levels of participation do not seem to have a direct influence on further voting.
Using data from the Elections Canada National Youth Survey conducted in , this report focused on the social and civic sources of electoral engagement, with an emphasis on factors within the family, in broader social networks, and in the classroom. As others have done before, our analysis shows the importance of political interest and political knowledge in determining whether individuals will abstain during elections.
While controlling for political interest and political knowledge reduces the positive effect of early socialization, it renders the effect of discussing politics with one's social network, of different media consumption, and among those under 35, civic education non-significant. This suggests that these factors may be promoting participation partly through their influence on interest and knowledge.
The propensity to engage in political and civic participation also has no direct effect on voting when controlling for political interest and political knowledge. Our findings suggest that civic education, particularly among younger voters, has a significant effect on political interest and political knowledge, both of which are important moderating variables for voter turnout.
In a similar fashion, university education is expected to have an effect on political interest and political knowledge, while remaining a significant predictor of voter turnout. It is worth noting that gender has a small and significant effect on voter turnout once controlling for interest and knowledge, with these two moderating variables transforming the usual and expected negative effect of being a woman into a positive one.
Spousal participation during elections and the perception of participation within one's network remain significant, with a positive effect on turnout. In fact, they are the only significant predictors of voter turnout for respondents over 35 until political interest is taken into account. Turning to respondents under 35, we find that even once controlling for interest and knowledge, early socialization and perception of network participation remain significant.
As a policy intervention, then, our findings suggest it can have an effect on younger voters. The data shows that while civics courses have a significant effect on knowledge and political interest for younger cohorts, this effect may subside over time.
As such, it is important to consider the impact of socialization on youth differently than on the general population. While younger cohorts are more likely to discuss politics within the family and, in most cases, with classmates and are more encouraged to vote by their social network, they are also less likely to discuss politics with coworkers, spouses, and friends.
Although socialization and civic instruction have an effect on voting behaviour among the youngest cohorts, they remain the least likely group to vote. Therefore, life-cycle effects need to be taken into consideration.
Respondents over 35 show no effect of civic instruction and early socialization, which implies that other variables not studied here may consolidate knowledge and interest, such as the effect of long-standing political preference and attitudes.
Promoting interest in elections is of fundamental importance to policy-makers. Interest has an incremental effect on political life and the socialization of individuals, where young cohorts who find elections uninteresting and abstain will tend to also abstain subsequently Franklin Competitiveness in elections and the impression that individuals could have an impact on electoral results help to create interest in elections Johnston et al.
While it is difficult to mandate competitive and interesting elections, current debates concerning changes to the electoral system may encourage greater interest in electoral politics. Our analysis of the effect of socialization factors on voter turnout by age groups highlights the importance of political interest and knowledge.
Considering the positive effect of civic education on knowledge and interest, our recommendation for policy-makers is to focus interventions on these mediating variables, and our analysis suggests that the most effective interventions will focus not just on the individual, but on the social environments in which one finds oneself. Campaigns that focus on getting groups of people to talk and discuss politics, rather than simply promoting the acquisition of individual's knowledge, may well have longer-term effects.
In conclusion, then, early socialization is linked to an increase in turnout among the youngest cohorts and reflects the beneficial effect of discussing politics at home. Getting people interested and knowledgeable about politics at a young age is the key to ensuring that these citizens participate in the electoral system when they come of age. Trends and Issues. Publication no. Bhatti, Y. Ottawa: Elections Canada, April.
Crossley, N. Chapter IV: Institutionalizing Citizen Engagement Very few governments in Canada have institutionalized citizen engagement, which involves both structural and cultural components. Institutionalization involves citizen engagement becoming a regular part of the policy process and being valued by the public and policy-makers.
Four criteria for institutionalization are:. Chapter V: Engaging Members of Specific Populations Exclusion of specific groups from civic participation due to historical barriers is still evident today. Several categories of exclusion relate to barriers to civic participation see Table 5 on p. For example:. Chapter VI: Engaging Aboriginal Communities There are very strong moral, legal, historical and practical reasons for engaging with Aboriginal communities for decision making in policies and programs that affect their lives.
Both cultural and structural roots to the exclusion of Aboriginal peoples need to be addressed. Citizen engagement can advance reconciliation between government and Aboriginal communities. The Goverment of Saskatchewan has developed a series of principles to guide consultation with Aboriginal communities.
Some of these principles are:. See questions to guide the planning process on p. A Preparation 1. Determine goals and rationale, plus assess context: listening, sharing power and decision-making 2.
Assessing citizen engagement requirements: time, resources, capacity, conditions for success. Some questions to consider include:. B Designing the Process 1. Developing internal capacity: new roles and responsibilities: train staff in citizen engagement 2. Feedback About the Open Government website. A Study on Citizen Engagement.
Laura Wesley. The Case for Public Engagement A strong case is emerging from the data that Canadians agree that government should consult regularly. Your name Leave this field blank.
About text formats. Leave this field blank Leave this field blank. Rules of Engagement We look forward to hearing from you. Comments and Interaction Our team will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate.
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More government information at your fingertips. These youth care about the future of open government. A step towards more open government. Respondents who stated they had not voted in the most recent federal election were asked about their main reason for not voting. The amount and the diversity of political information available on the Internet have exploded over the past 10 years. Moreover, quickly finding information about a political issue has probably never been as easy for citizens.
Young people aged 15 to 24 and those in the to age group were therefore — and by a wide margin — those with the strongest propensity to search for information about a political issue Table 7. The intensive use of the Internet by young people, which makes this type of research easy, may be the reason behind this finding. The rise in the tendency to search for information on a political issue was not accompanied, however, by an increase in political participation.
Instead, there appeared to be a downward trend for other forms of political activity for which information was collected in the GSS. Also, a lower proportion of people expressed their views on an issue by contacting a newspaper or a politician. GSS respondents were also asked about two new types of political activity.
While Canada had a number of female premiers in , women remained under-represented among elected officials Equal Voice How do men and women differ with respect to the various political activities in which citizens take part? Nevertheless, in many ways men and women displayed similar propensities for being politically active. In , for example, women were just as likely as men to have voted in the last federal election, to have signed a petition or to have participated in a demonstration or march Table 7.
Women were also less inclined to express their views on a political or social issue, whether by contacting a newspaper or a politician or on the Internet Internet forum or news website. The GSS data seem to support that opinion, at least in part. In , young people aged 15 to 24 were approximately five times more likely to have participated in a demonstration or protest march compared with seniors aged 65 to Young people were more likely than seniors to sign a petition, wear a badge or T-shirt and display a lawn sign to support or oppose a particular political or social cause.
Previous studies have shown that, in addition to having a tendency to vote in larger numbers, those who are most economically and socially advantaged are much more likely to use the various ways of expressing their views in a democracy Verba, Schlozman and Brady The GSS data illustrate this reality for all types of political activities.
A number of political activities other than voting may be motivated by dissatisfaction with a particular situation. The same type of association existed with regard to confidence in the Canadian media: a low level of confidence was related to a higher probability of having expressed an opinion, signed a petition, boycotted or chosen a particular product for ethical reasons and so forth.
Conversely, a lower level of confidence in public institutions was associated with a lower probability of having voted. Whether by participating in groups, voting or being politically active, Canadians are involved and are participating in their communities in different ways. The level of civic engagement among Canadians was slightly higher in than it was a decade earlier.
The types of groups most popular with Canadians were sports and recreational organizations, followed by unions or professional associations. Young people participated more often in sports organizations, while seniors were more inclined to be members of religious-affiliated groups and service clubs. The voting rate has decreased significantly since the s. In , young voters, people with lower levels of education, people who were less interested in politics and who had lower levels of education and recent immigrants were less likely to have voted in the last federal election.
Among older Canadians, voter turnout was relatively high, even among those who expressed a low level of interest in politics and those with lower levels of education. Moreover, seniors who did not have a high school diploma were more likely to have voted in the federal election than people aged 25 to 34 with a university degree. However, more and more people searched for information on a political issue. Age group was a factor that was strongly associated with political activities other than voting.
Young people were more likely than seniors to have participated in a demonstration or protest march and to have supported or opposed a cause publicly. The target population was composed of people aged 15 and over living in the 10 provinces of Canada, except for people living full time in institutions.
The number of respondents was 24, in , 20, in and 27, in , for a total of 73, people. Curtis, James E. Baer and Edward G. Equal Voice. Gilmour, Heather. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. Thomas, Derrick. Turcotte, Martin.
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