While the model of deliberative democracy gives a crucial role to dialog, empirical evidence has not yet established if discussion helps to reach a better understanding of political issues and, above all, if individuals are prepared to change their views. It is still unclear when the deliberative model, and more specifically discussion, could be…

Presents an activities package designed for teachers to use in teaching elementary or secondary students about political processes in an election year. Includes topics such as voting procedures, political parties, political campaigns, issues, and rating the candidates. (CK)

Presents five projects on student voting rights recommended for college students in U.S. government and constitutional law courses. Projects include reading the state's residency law, investigating state and local interpretation of student voting rights, researching the constitutional issues involved in voting rights, and surveying students as to…

Coalitions and vote-trading probabilities exist as ways by which the political process reduces conflict and takes account of intensities of minority preferences. By creating matrices of voters and issues, all possible winning coalition patterns were specified and the probabilities within each case were calculated. A preference vector for each…

This guide was prepared to help elementary and secondary social studies teachers use the 1984 elections as a tool to teach about American government and politics. The goal is to help students use their town, country, or city as their classroom and to use newspapers, community resources, campaign materials and activities, and the broadcast media as…

Guides and resources in this kit are prepared for a six week to two month secondary voter education course. The objectives are to prepare and motivate eligible students to register and vote in the presidential election, to participate in the presidential election campaigning, and to increase their overall knowledge concerning the presidential…

Describes a study which shows that many of the apparent changes in voters' attitudes toward political issues since the 1950s are really due to variations in question wording on survey forms. Journal available from Department of Political Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611. (Author/AV)

Procedures for organizing political education assemblies which present high school students with both sides of political issues, credentials of candidates, and an understanding of the U.S. political system are described. The assemblies provide non-partisan or bi-partisan information for students to make logical, responsible decisions. Information…

An experiential political science course at the college level offers students a chance to volunteer their time to help in both national and local elections. Techniques and methods of evaluation are discussed. (JR)

Highlights the state government course at West Virginia University that leads students in a comparative study of state governments. Uses a natural progression of course topics from basic state-level characteristics, to political behavior, to political institutions, to policy in order to facilitate understanding of interstate political variation.…

Procedures for establishing a student-run election information and issue analysis center at the high school level are presented. The purpose of the election information center is to provide the student population with an awareness of candidate's views and to coordinate volunteer activities of students in a campaign. Student personnel include a…

A game designed to introduce elementary and middle school students to the primary election process and its operational elements through simulation and role playing activities is presented in this document. A hypothetical town of Notae which has been controlled by one political party for years without resulting change is described. Issues in the…

This study in contemporary campaign communications concentrates on a state-level legislative election in a western state. The candidate selected for analysis (anonymous) expressed his views on the campaign issues and the message he thought he was sending to voters. Voters were sampled to determine the issue- and non-issue-related messages that…

There is evidence of a growing trend toward ticket splitting, or independent voting patterns in all U.S. elections, especially in recent years. Independence of the electorate in 1972 was visible in the large Republican vote for President, during substantial voting for Democrats in Congress, and in gubernatorial elections. Analysis of mass media…

The main purpose of this volume is to provide information and ideas which might contribute to the improvement of secondary school instruction about voter behavior and elections. The focus is on the real political world and why people behave as they do. Facts and ideas are drawn from the work of social scientists, and the questions raised are those…