The roots of the political science discipline are intertwined with
developing the skills required for democratic citizenship. Teaching and
research efforts in this admirable tradition are still a prominent focal
point of our academic tradition, as evidenced by the work of the APSA Task
Force on Civic Education, reoccurring arguments about the most effective
pedagogy for promoting participation, and works assessing the effects of
civic education interventions. Moreover, this tradition has become
increasingly relevant as political participation in the United States,
especially among young people, continues to decline. Panel studies of
college freshmen indicate that young people's participation in an
array of political indicators—including thinking that keeping up
with politics is important, discussing politics with friends, and
acquiring political knowledge—have all declined by about half since
the 1960s (Sax et al. 2003). Far more young
people voted in 2004 than in the past, as turnout by 18–24 year-olds
increased from 36% in 2000 to 42%, but younger citizens' appearance
at the polls still lagged behind prior cohorts of young Americans, as well
as their current elders (CIRCLE 2005). Educators
and policy makers have come to the conclusion that intervention through
formal civic education is necessary (Carnegie Corporation of New York and
CIRCLE 2003; Galston 2003). Spurred on by works such as Educating
Citizens (Colby, Ehrlich, Beaumont, and Stephens 2003) and Civic Responsibility in Higher
Education (Ehrlich 2000), many colleges and
universities have reinvigorated their mission of grooming students for
civic leadership. Most of the skills identified as essential to such
efforts could be labeled as deliberative communication skills. As the
Colby et al. (2003) note: