Supported by a Springboard Grant from the Tufts University Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Civic engagement – defined as thinking about, caring about, and taking action to address issues of broad public concern (Carpini & Keeter, 1996) – is important for societies (especially democracies) to function. Despite an accumulating body of research on civic engagement (e.g., Wray-Lake & Ballard, 2023) there remain major weaknesses in the field’s theoretical frameworks that keep us from deeply understanding how to promote different forms of civic engagement. The purpose of Adolescent Civic Engagement Study is to begin developing an improved theoretical framework of youth civic engagement. Using grounded-theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014), we will conduct and analyze in-depth interviews with adolescents to inductively generate theory.