The Effects of Close Up Participation on High School Students' Political Attitudes

IDENTIFIERS *Close Up Foundation The study examines the effect of an experiential learning program on high school students ' attitudes toward political institutions and on their political behavior. Chosen randomly from Georgia high schools, students were selected from the population attending Close Up Foundation activities during 1989. The hypotheses were that students who participate in an experiential citizenship education program would: (1) show increased political interest; (2) show increased feelings of efficacy; (3) show an increase in political confidence; (4) show an increase in political trust; and (5) become more politically active. The experience was provided by the Close Up Foundation, a private, non-profit organization specializing in experiential citizenship education. Experimental subjects (n=58) ranging in age from 15-19 years spent 1 week i