Civic Engagement Assignments and Political Efficacy

Survey responses to standard political efficacy battery<br><br> We examine
how to increase students’ self-reported feelings of political efficacy in
Introduction to U.S. Government courses. We test the effectiveness of civic
engagement assignments, such as writing a letter to your member of Congress or
attending a public meeting, in increasing political efficacy beyond simply
taking the course. Conducting pre and post-tests in both classes with
(treatment group) and without (control group) the civic engagement assignments
allows us to isolate the effect of the assignments. We find significant effects
for taking the course in both the treatment and control groups, confirming
existing research that taking Introduction to U.S. Government increases
students’ political efficacy. We also find treatment effects for multiple elements
of the standard political efficacy questionnaire. That our intervention had
these affects at a state university that is both a Hispanic Serving Institution
and a Minority Serving Institution indicates these types of civic engagement
assignments hold significant potential not just for increasing political
efficacy among students, but also increasing efficacy among historical
marginalized groups who typically participate in politics at lower rates than
White Americans.<br>