ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: A PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING APPROACH

Today’s “millennial” undergraduate students are less politically involved than students in past generations, and voter turnout among the 18-25 age group has been on the decline since the 1970s. At the same time, however, student activism remains important on American university campuses, student opinions reflect a continued interest in the democratic process, and college freshman in 2015 were more politically involved than any of their peers in the 50 years prior. Colleges and universities are well positioned for the promotion of civic engagement, especially given the public history of the American university, many of which were involved in nation building. As such, it is important to consider the potential civic impact of higher education institutions. \ud Using data from the NCES 2002 Education Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002), IPEDS 2006, and the 1965 Youth-Parent Socialization Panel Study, I use propensity score matching to understand the effects of various aspects of the college experience on civic engagement outcomes. I use an adaptation of Astin’s (1993) input-environment-outcome model of college impact, informed by the literature on political socialization and pre-college civic education. This study’s first key finding is that college involvement, more than the type of institution attended, has an impact on young adult civic engagement outcomes. The second key finding in this study is that the effects of the college experience on civic engagement outcomes may not persist into later adulthood.\ud This study addresses a key methodological challenge in the literature on civic engagement by using propensity score matching to mitigate the effects of selection bias. This study also contributes to the extant literature on civic education by applying an interdisciplinary framework, and by supporting research that the “within college” effect is stronger than the “between college” effect on student outcomes. Based on this study’s findings, several recommendations for research and practice are offered: awareness of generational differences in political socialization; tracking specifics of engagement in college activities; promoting engagement for those least likely to get involved; and development of richer data with outcomes relevant to today’s millennial college students. \u