Fostering Cautious Political Efficacy Through Civic Advocacy Projects: A Mixed Methods Case Study of an Innovative High School Class

One of the strongest predictors of political participation is political efficacy, the belief that individuals' action can influence governmental processes. Prior research indicates that political efficacy is higher for individuals who have had opportunities to discuss public issues (e.g., Hahn, 1999; Morrell, 2005) and participate in small-scale democratic processes (e.g., Dressner, 1990; Stroupe & Sabato, 2004). In this study, the author examined one high school course in which students had these experiences through their completion of civic advocacy projects. These projects required students to identify, investigate, and advocate for public issues of concern to them. Throughout the semester-long course, the author recorded fieldnotes on classroom observations, conducted interviews, and administered surveys. Findings indicate that completing civic advocacy projects positively influenced students' development of political efficacy and their understanding of political challenges, but it also reduced their self-efficacy for their own persistence. Key features of the teacher's pedagogy were problem-framing, teaching civic skills, and personalized project facilitation.