Browsing by Subject "civic literacy"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Civic Awareness and Community Satisfaction
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Brown, Alexus D.
    The civic literacy of native-born Americans routinely illustrates gaps in civic education. This deficit is particularly visible when it comes to correctly answering questions about the legal and political framework of the American constitutional republic, including elementary facts related to current political affairs and essential political policymakers. Without knowledge of how to effect change in government, it is extremely difficult to do so. This study aims to connect the reasons behind why youth ages 16-18 increasingly choose to abstain from the democratic process, failing to contribute to the social welfare of their respective communities through the channels of government. A sample of students at Arsenal Technical High School were interviewed in groups of two or individually. Each interview began with five questions from a sample U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test in order to estimate the students’ level of civic literacy. Following the USCIS test, students were asked a series of questions to gauge their civic engagement and the amount of credibility they perceive in the government. Students who scored higher on the ISCIS were more likely to report dissatisfaction with the current state of their Indianapolis neighborhoods. The efforts of this study led to greater questions. Further research will see the initial responses of Arsenal Technical High School students compared to that of students who attend high school in suburban neighborhoods. An evaluation is anticipated show a correlation between increased neighborhood affluence and faith in government action.
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    NEWS AND CIVIC LITERACY;WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Fields, Whitney; Thelin, Rachel; Suess Kennedy, Sheila
    The Center for Civic Literacy (CCL) at IUPUI is a Signature Center Grant recipient. CCL is a multi-disciplinary research center established to examine the causes and dimensions of Americans’ low levels of civic knowledge, and to investigate the consequences of personal, social, and political civic ignorance. CCL takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the causes and effects of deficits in civic literacy, while also examining best practices that combat civic deficits across sectors of society, including public affairs, science, education, business, and healthcare. The latest project from the center investigates how low levels of civic and news literacy intersect; what’s the connection and why does it matter? A study from America University states, “news habits tend to be formed early; if young people turn away from the news, it may lead to a less informed citizenry and make it less likely that there will be a critical mass of news consumers to sustain the high-quality journalism and information production crucial to a healthy democracy” (Hayes, 2014, p.222). The center is currently gathering such research to make the case for an IPS program in high schools which would teach both news and civic literacy.
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    WE ALL HAVE TO DO IT: PURPOSE AND PROCESS OF LITERATURE REVIEW
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2014-04-11) Lafata, Deborah; Weiss, Anne; Thelin, Rachel; Suess Kennedy, Sheila
    The Center for Civic Literacy (CCL) at IUPUI is a Signature Center Grant recipient. CCL is a multi-disciplinary research center established to examine the causes and dimensions of Americans’ low levels of civic knowledge, and to investigate the consequences of personal, social, and political civic ignorance. CCL takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the causes and effects of deficits in civic literacy, while also examining best practices that combat civic deficits across sectors of society, including public affairs, science, education, business, and healthcare. To further understand the nature of civic deficits, CCL must first define ‘civic literacy’ across these varied disciplinary contexts. This process requires thorough review and assessment of existing research that addresses various aspects of civic knowledge. CCL’s poster will showcase the purpose, challenges, and lessons learned from engaging in an iterative process of a multi-disciplinary literature review. An additional goal of presenting CCL’s literature review approach is to encourage attendees to consider how researchers frame, refine, and rework their understanding of a particular topic to strengthen their research objectives.