Civic Development in Context: The Influence of Local Contexts on High School Students' Beliefs about Civic Engagement
by Ellen Middaugh and Joseph Kahne
This paper examines the common features and social contextual differences of youth civic development. Social context is defined by demographic features of young people's communities - racial and ethnic diversity, socioeconomic status, and population density. While conventional wisdom suggests these variables bear some relationship to youth civic development, the relationship has not been fully examined.