30th Annual Student Research Conference
Truman State University Students and Civic Duty: A Study on Political Participation and Higher Education
Trista J. Sullivan
Dr. Anton Daughters, Faculty Mentor
As participating citizens in a democratic society, we must ask ourselves: What drives us to participate in the political process? Do components of higher education such as organizational involvement, housing selection, and grade point average affect the capacity at which individuals choose to participate politically, such as joining political organizations, voting, volunteering, and contributing to campaigns? Utilizing a survey of undergraduate students at Truman State University, data was collected. This study finds statistically significant relations between political participation score and gender, race, socioeconomic status, and level of parental political involvement. For example, men had higher mean political participation scores than women, just as white respondents had great mean political participation scores than respondents of any other race. In order to fight voter apathy and advocate for high levels of participation within the American political process, studies such as this remain significant and move toward understanding these civic phenomena.
Keywords: political, participation, higher education, voter apathy, voting trends, political organization, student politics, truman state university
Topic(s):Sociology
Political Science
American Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 311-5
Location: VH 1236
Time: 2:00