Publication Date

2005

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Gyant, LaVerne, 1950-

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education

LCSH

College of DuPage--Students--Political activity; Community college students--Illinois--Political activity

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine if use of National Issues Forums in a Midwest community college behavioral science course predicted civic participation. Three research hypotheses were tested to determine if students who participated in National Issues Forums (n = 189) perceived civic participation to be more important, became more civically involved, and planned more future civic participation than a control group (n = 126). Data were collected from surveys returned by respondents in the U.S. mail. The static group comparison research design was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analyses, multiple regression analyses, and a non-parametric two-way chi-square test. Seventeen original civic participation variable indicators were grouped into categories by use of factor analyses to establish dimensions of civic participation, perceived and actual. The findings from this study are the experimental group did not test significantly greater than the control group, although several control variables were significantly related to civic participation. All five control variables tested significant in at least one factor: however, the NIF group condition was not a significant predictor of civic participation. The findings were unexpected in that the control group out-participated the experimental group for more than half the civic activities tested, although these differences were not statistically significant. Unexpected results showed the control group to be more civically participative than the experimental group on more than half of the seventeen indicators of civic participation after the treatment, although these differences were not statistically significant. In summary, the findings show there is no significant difference in patterns of civic participation between the experimental and control groups.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [138]-144).

Extent

xii, 206 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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