Only 1 in 3 middle and high school students report strong opportunities for civic participation at school, according to a new report by YouthTruth, a national nonprofit that administers K-12 school climate and culture surveys.

Most students reported that they lack opportunities to practice skills necessary for civic engagement, exposing a disconnect between what teachers believe schools provide and what young people actually experience. Drawing on nearly 140,000 responses from students, “The Civic Gap: How Schools Can Cultivate Student Voice and Participation,” describes the conditions schools must foster to encourage civic participation.

“Unfortunately, it’s only becoming harder to vote, harder to engage in discourse, harder to be informed, harder to participate,” said David McKinney, Vice President of YouthTruth. “If we agree that democracy should be stronger and endure for the next 250 years, we should help young people experience the power of democracy now.”

Additional findings include:

  • Belonging and trust drive civic participation at school.

  • Instruction that challenges students and connects to their lives is linked to stronger civic participation.

  • Students in large-city schools and schools with lower enrollment report stronger opportunities for civic participation.

Cynthia Chiong, Ph.D., Director of Research and Insights at YouthTruth, said civic education must go beyond civics courses – educators and policymakers must give students meaningful opportunities to experience civic life through everyday activities and interactions.

“Students do not automatically develop the confidence to use their voice and act on their beliefs,” she said. “These skills are built over years of practice. Schools are teaching civics without providing young people the space to apply what they learn. The longer schools wait, the less time young people have to develop the skills democracy will require of them.”

Read the full report on YouthTruth.org. To learn more about the issues that are top of mind for students, read the companion brief to this report, “If I Spoke Up: The Conditions That Shape Youth Civic Voice.”

About YouthTruth

YouthTruth, an initiative of The Center for Effective Philanthropy, is a national nonprofit dedicated to amplifying student voices. Since 2008, we’ve worked with districts across the country to gather input from nearly 3.5 million students on their school experiences.

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