Predicting Civic Engagement in Urban High School Students?

We also created summaries of the individual-outcome regressions and the global regressions (Tables 8 and 10, respectively) to help with interpreting the findings in terms of breadth of influence, strength of effect, and consistency over time of the predictor variables. [...] The proportion of students doing community service in the present or past was 6% higher in 2009 than the previous year, and the average scores on the environmental conservation and personal efficacy scales rose 4% and 3%, respectively. [...] We have also identified and characterized a number of predictor factors in terms of the breadth, strength, and consistency of their associations with these civic outcomes, with the aim of determining which factors might be emphasized as a means of enhancing youth civic engagement. [...] The link between civic engagement and grade in school is what we would expect to see as youth mature and are increasingly exposed to opportunities for civic engagement at school and in the community. [...] Conclusions The major purpose of the current study was to identify the most important predictors of youth civic engagement in a set of probable and possible predictors as a way of trying to identify what works best.