Abstract
This chapter identifies the low levels of youth political engagement for those from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK as a key problem. Although this social problem is not unique to the UK, it is found to be the most salient in Europe and getting worse. The issue of low levels of political engagement among disadvantaged youth is located within the current sociopolitical climate of the rise in populism and the vote to leave the EU. The chapter explains the basics of the theory developed for this book on how low levels of political engagement are socially reproduced between generations and the role that education plays in this process. The role of access to political learning is identified as a critical factor within this process.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ben-Porath, S. (2013). Deferring virtue: The new management of students and the civic role of schools. School Field, 11(2), 111–128.
Blanden, J., Gregg, P., & Macmillan, L. (2007). Accounting for intergenerational income persistence: Noncognitive skills, ability and education. The Economic Journal, 117(519), C43–C60.
Bovens, M., & Wille, A. (2017). Diploma democracy: The rise of political meritocracy. Oxford University Press.
Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in capitalist America. New York: Basic.
Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (2011). Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reform and the contradictions of economic life. Chicago: Haymarket Books.
Brady, H. E., Schlozman, K. L., & Verba, S. (2015). Political mobility and political reproduction from generation to generation. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 657(1), 149–173.
Burden, B. C. (2009). The dynamic effects of education on voter turnout. Electoral Studies, 28(4), 540–549.
Campbell, D. E. (2006). What is education’s impact on civic and social engagement? In R. Desjardins & T. Schuller (Eds.), Measuring the effects of education on health and civic/social engagement (pp. 25–126). Paris: OECD/CERI.
Crawford, C., Johnson, P., Machin, S., & Vignoles, A. (2011). Social mobility: A literature review. London: Department for Business Innovation and Skills.
Dalton, R. J. (2017). The participation gap: Social status and political inequality. Oxford University Press.
Flanagan, C., & Levine, P. (2010). Civic engagement and the transition to adulthood. The Future of Children, 20(1), 159–179.
Hoskins, B., & Janmaat, J. G. (2016). Educational trajectories and inequalities of political engagement among adolescents in England. Social Science Research, 56, 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.11.005.
Hoskins, B., Janmaat, J. G., Han, C., & Muijs, D. (2016). Inequalities in the education system and the reproduction of socioeconomic disparities in voting in England, Denmark and Germany: The influence of country context, tracking and self-efficacy on voting intentions of students age 16–18. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(1), 69–92.
Hoskins, B., Janmaat, J. G., & Melis, G. (2017). Tackling inequalities in political socialisation: A systematic analysis of access to and mitigation effects of learning citizenship at school. Social Science Research, 68, 88–101.
Huber, R. A., & Ruth, S. P. (2017). Mind the gap! Populism, participation and representation in Europe. Swiss Political Science Review, 23(4), 462–484.
Ipsos MORI. (2017). How Britain voted in 2017. Retriever May 2019 from https://ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2017-election.
Janmaat, J. G., Mostafa, T., & Hoskins, B. (2014). Widening the anticipation gap: The effect of educational track on reported voting in England. Journal of Adolescence, 37, 473–482.
Kam, C. D., & Palmer, C. L. (2008). Reconsidering the effects of education on political participation. Journal of Politics, 70(3), 612–631.
Katz, R., & Peter, M. (2009). The cartel party thesis: A restatement. Perspectives on Politics, 7(4), 753–766.
Kriesi, H. (2014). The populist challenge. West European Politics, 37(2), 361–378.
Macmillan, L. (2009). Social mobility and the professions. Bristol: Centre for Market and Public Organisation.
Mair, P. (2009). Representative versus responsible government (MplfG Working Paper 09/8).
New York Times. (2018). Are civics lessons a constitutional right? This student is suing for them. Retrieved January 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/us/civics-rhode-island-schools.html#commentsContainer.
Nie, N., Junn, J., & Stehlik-Barry, K. (1996). Education and democratic citizenship in America. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Persson, M. (2012). Does type of education affect political participation? Results from a panel survey of Swedish adolescents. Scandinavian Political Studies, 35, 198–221.
Persson, M. (2014). Testing the relationship between education and political participation using the 1970 British Cohort Study. Political Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11109-013-9254-0. Published online by Springer US, September 2013.
Prosser, C., Edward, A., Green, J., Mellon, J., & Evans, G. (2018). Tremors but no youthquake: Measuring changes in the age and turnout gradients at the 2015 and 2017 British General Elections. Retrieved January 7, 2019, from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3111839 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3111839.
Sloam, J., Ehsan, R., & Henn, M. (2018). Youthquake: How and why young people reshaped the political landscape in 2017. Political Insight, 9(1), 4–8.
Sloam, J., & Henn, M. (2019). Youthquake 2017: The rise of young cosmopolitans in Britain. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
UK Government. (2018). Transparency data: Open academies, free schools, studio schools and UTCs. Retrieved January 2019, from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development.
Verba, S., Lehman Schlozman, K., & Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism in American politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hoskins, B., Janmaat, J.G. (2019). Introduction. In: Education, Democracy and Inequality. Education, Economy and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48976-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48976-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-48975-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-48976-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)