Suggestions are offered for teaching about three kinds of decisions in electoral politics which all citizens face: deciding whether to participate, deciding how to participate, and deciding for whom to vote. (AV)

A history of suffrage in the United States and an examination of voting percentages of the population in recent years show that large groups in our country do not vote. Antiquated voter registration laws prevent members of our highly mobile population from exercising their right to vote. (AV)

Reports a study designed to determine whether interpersonal communication in the form of direct personal contact with a political candidate influences voting decisions. (MH)

Analyzes how Black women fought for and won basic citizenship rights in the United States. Cites examples which show how the struggle of Black women helped to transform the U.S. Constitution. (Author/BSR)

Demonstrates the use of 10 role playing scenarios which involve junior and senior high students in the social milieu of the time in U.S. history before women were able to vote. Identifies resource materials, describes roles students may take, and provides sample objectives. (JDH)

Research into voters' reasons for supporting or opposing Proposition 2 1/2, Massachusetts's 1980 property tax limitation measure, revealed that educational issues were of moderate importance and that voters were more interested in restructuring educational finance and governance than in reducing school budgets. Still the passage of the measure…

Concludes that those who vote are more likely to use newspapers as sources of local and state political news than those who do not vote. (FL)

This study reviews research on the defeat of incumbent school board members and presents new election data on 104 southern California school districts. The findings confirm that incumbent defeat is episodic, but they challenge previous research regarding its nature and origins. (Author)

Educators and policymakers are increasingly pursuing a broad variety of programs that aim to promote democracy through civic education, service learning, and other pedagogies. Their underlying beliefs, however, differ. For some, a commitment to democracy is associated with liberal notions of freedom, while for others democracy is primarily about…

The hypothesized effects of educational attainment on adult civic engagement and attitudes provide some of the most important justifications for government intervention in the market for education. This study presents evidence on whether these externalities exist. It assesses and implements two strategies for identifying the effects of educational…

This report presents data from a January 2003 national public opinion poll that examined what voting-age Americans valued about public education and wanted their elected leaders to do to raise academic achievement for all children. It analyzes data on 800 voters with an oversample of 125 registered African Americans and 125 registered Latino…

Explores aspects of four school referenda in Albuquerque in 1968 and 1969. Data suggest that income did not significantly correlate with elections utilizing the property tax as a funding base, but did so with voting behavior in an election with income tax as a funding base. (RJ)

Offers suggestions on how a board member can best exert power, whether he or she is alone in his or her opinions, part of a committee, part of a minority on the board, or part of the majority. (IRT)