Citizen Participation and Training

School-Based and Community-Based Training

School-based training for citizen participation is common in democratic societies. Schools in the United States, for example, offer courses such as civics or social studies that explain formal features of U.S. government, with which young people need to be familiar if they are to become active participants. These features include the rights of citizens; the branches of government and their functions; the nature of the federal system and intergovernmental relations; the importance of voting; the roles of elected officials, political parties, and interest groups; and public policy formation and legislative advocacy. Students learn that they can attend meetings, serve on councils, vote in elections, contact a public official, or run for office themselves.

Recent evidence suggests that measurable levels of formal participation in public affairs, such as membership in voluntary associations and voting in elections, are decreasing. Studies indicate that a significant proportion of the population are either uninvolved or minimally involved, that a small group of people are very active, and that those who actively participate are not representative of the overall population. Lower-income people are less likely to participate in political activities or government programs, although there is evidence of [Page 159]long-term increases in their political efficacy and in their use of tactics that increase their influence.

Community-based training for citizen participation is also pervasive in the United States. The number of training programs and populations they reach is large. At the local level, they operate in grassroots groups, religious institutions, labor unions, and business corporations. At the national level, they include intermediary organizations and national associations that represent diverse ideologies, such as the Center for Third World Organizing, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Council of La Raza, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Homebuilders, Boy Scouts, and 4-H Clubs. Those organizations all provide training in citizen participation.

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