Karl T. Kurtz, Alan Rosenthal, and Cliff Zukin, National Conference of State Legislatures
September 2003
This report publishes the results of a survey conducted by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Center for Civic Education, and Indiana University's Center on Congress. The survey focused on civic education and the awareness of the American public, with questions concerning citizen's political knowledge as well as levels of participation and involvement in politics and community. By comparing the results of different generations, it shows a significant generation gap in civic knowledge. There is a clear decline in understanding and civic participation among our nation's youth - dubbed "DotNets," aged 15-26, - which arguably contributes to decreased engagement in local, state, or national politics. Only 47 percent of DotNets vote, compared to 77 percent of older generations. Just 48 percent knew the political party of their current governor and only 40 percent knew which party controlled Congress. Interestingly, DotNets who had taken civics classes were more than twice as likely to follow politics. This report is informative and helpful to those designing civics programs for young people. Check it out at http://www.ncsl.org/public/trust/citizenship.pdf.
