Closing gaps in political communication and knowledge - Effects of a school intervention

Citation
M. Mcdevitt et S. Chaffee, Closing gaps in political communication and knowledge - Effects of a school intervention, COMM RES, 27(3), 2000, pp. 259-292
Citations number
62
Categorie Soggetti
Communication
Journal title
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
ISSN journal
00936502 → ACNP
Volume
27
Issue
3
Year of publication
2000
Pages
259 - 292
Database
ISI
SICI code
0093-6502(200006)27:3<259:CGIPCA>2.0.ZU;2-O
Abstract
A model of family influence that reverses the traditional roles of parents and children is presented to explain the results of a school intervention t hat narrowed political communication and knowledge gaps between parents of high and low socioeconomic status (SES). Students' exposure to a civics cur riculum stimulated adolescent news media use at home and discussions with p arents about an ongoing election campaign. These discussions, in turn, stim ulated parents to pay more attention to news and to gain political knowledg e. Students in Grades 5 through 12 and one parent from each family were int erviewed in a quasi-experimental evaluation of the civics curriculum (N = 4 57 pairs). Parents in low-SES homes had not been strongly socialized to pol itics in their own youth, but their children's exposure to the school inter vention provided them a second chance at citizenship. This study highlights the capacity of the child to stimulate political communication in low-SES families.