University’s Influence on Students’ Civic and Political Engagement

University’s Influence on Students’ Civic and Political Engagement

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Institution

University’s Influence on Students’ Civic and Political Engagement

The current political system of the United States indicates a decline in civic and political participation among citizens. Fundamentally changing and improving the democratic space of the U.S. depends on modifying its foundation of citizen participation and representation. However, democracy also needs a citizenry with the ability to hold leaders accountable. In this view, the educational institutions play a critical role in ensuring that the youth are prepared and motivated to participate in civic and political life. The universities through facilitating and encouraging students’ participation in engaged learning, student organizations, voluntarism, internships, and overall campus life enhances engagement which boosts students’ civic and political participation.

Engaged learning courses

Education shapes what an individual knows and its content offers knowledge and experience that facilitate social and civic engagement. Besides, it cultivates attitudes, values, and motivations which promote engagement. In this case, engaged learning in the universities boosts the knowledge of students on engagement and offer skills on how to practically apply these concepts in real life. Classroom instructions offer insights into history, economics, democracy, government, and law to boost students’ understanding of their social and civic history and environment. Universities incorporate discussions of the current international, national, and local events and issues into their learning illustrations (Battistoni, 2017). Such practices build the social and civic engagement of the students because it equips them with necessary real-life since they are a case study for the theoretical frameworks and concepts they learn. As such, the university offers students an opportunity to learn different concepts and values which boost engagement and applies the real-life discussion to boost their understanding and skills to apply them. Consequently, it improves students’ engagement in civic and political life.

Students Organizations

Universities promote civic and political engagement among students through the creation of civic spaces within the institutions. The civic spaces can be a social virtual or physical place where students gather and share in public. Development of the civic spaces provides students with a platform to learn and experience democratic citizenship. These civic spaces aim to develop and support courses, processes, culture, and organizations that contribute to engaging citizenry development (Planas et al., 2013). In this view, the student organizations may help impact leadership skills on the students who assume the leadership roles of the organizations. Consequently, it influences their engagement and boosts their civic and political participation. Moreover, student organizations also act as avenues where students can engage in ideals about politics and democracy. The student organizations in collaboration with the management of the university organize for various public forums whereby policy think tanks, national, local, and international leaders, as well as university professorsare invited as guest speakers. Such functions motivate and inspire students to engage in civic and political life.

Volunteerism

Volunteerism, particularly in community services, fosters service ethic and engagement among university students. Students who engaged with diverse and underserved populations in community volunteerism programs often develop bridges that may link them with initiatives and individuals who may have not had the opportunity to create and nurture the association of understanding as well as reciprocity. These experiences enhance the abilities of students to identify and ascertain community needs and assets to develop a perspective on how to work with others to establish community-building initiatives. Furthermore, it improves students’ understanding of social injustice issues and shapes their thinking towards critical thinking and moral consideration concerning social issues. Eyler and Giles (2014) argue that volunteerism is considered as a significant element in the education process for developing an engaged citizenry and stronger democracy. Through volunteerism, students can understand the importance of civic engagement and become part of the civic process in society. As such, volunteerism help students to understand different societal issues and engage them are solving societal problems, subsequently, improving their civic and political life.

Internships

Internships offer students an experiential learning opportunity by working on essential projects in virtually any areas of civic and community engagement. They are an incredible opportunity for university students to explore their careers and start to discover ways they can align themselves with meaningful work. Some internship opportunities give students chances to interact with diverse and underserved individuals in society; thus, it increases their social engagement status. Huda et al., (2018) argues that internships are experiential education form where students learn through action and reflection cycle to achieve realistic objectives for the community and gain a deeper understanding of learned concepts. Therefore, the internship process allows students to link social and personal development with cognitive and academic development to enhance experience and understanding of issues and result in more effective engagements and actions. Students’ engagement and understanding of societal issues improve when they participate in internships. Thus, university students achieve a high civic and political engagement through internships which facilitates their linkage with the community.

Residence Halls

While the necessity to house students is one of the significant purposes of the residence halls, it is not considered as the most important reason why institutions invest heavily in these facilities. Establishing a peer environment in the university’s residence halls primarily facilitates numerous components of students’ psychological and cognitive growth. The residential environment of students is one of the most important means for learning since it increases informal interaction among students and creates opportunities for them to explore lifestyles, values, and interests in a more supportive environment (Tierney, 2012). Studies show that students that live in the universities’ residences exhibit a higher level of social and civic engagement compared to those students that stay at home because they have more interactions with various members of the institution and participate more in university activities. Besides, there are respectful dialogues on different public issues within the residence halls which boost civic engagement among students. Some universities have residence hall students associations which are the main student representation body within the residential system. Such organizations allow the students to engage in political activities such as campaigns and voting to elect their representatives. In this view, one can argue that social hall enhances students’ engagement to promote their civic and political life through creating opportunities for interaction, participation in public discourse debates, and campus political activities.

Campus Life

The campus environment influences students’ engagement behaviors. Besar et al. (2015) demonstrate that the political behavior of students is largely influenced by the campus environment including, university leadership, lecturers, and welfare. Besides learning different knowledge disciplines, students also participate in different activities that enhance their social and civic activities. Some students may participate in campus politics in different dimensions including offering themselves for leadership positions, campaigning for others, and voting. Others engage in activism whereby they advocate for different welfare issues of the students. These activities within the campus promote the level of students’ engagement and prepare them to become good citizens with a high sense of political and civic participation.

Personalized Plan

While at the university I shall seek to improve my civil engagement through various ways and involvement in different organizations. I shall actively participate in four main classes of organizations within the university including, educational and academic organizations, community service organizations, Multicultural and political organizations, and student government organizations. These organizations are critical since they will improve my civic engagement in relation to students’ governance, students’ politics, volunteering, and debates. In all of these organizations, I shall also seek to actively participate in the election of the leaders and at one point become a leader of some of them. Indeed, I believe these organizations directly influence student’s civic engagement to promote trust, resources, engagement, and invitations.

Again, I shall engage in different extracurricular activities to promote my civic engagement within the University over a period of five years. Student governance is one of the most important activities that I shall be actively involved in. I shall not only participate in the election of student leaders in the student council and residence hall government but also tender my candidature for consideration by the other students. Other extracurricular activities that I shall be involved in include service-related activities, multicultural activities, and professional associations. These activities shall allow me to participate in leadership, volunteering, and giving my opinion about critical issues in the university and society.

There are several events that I shall endeavor to attend while at the University. I shall attend several public lecturers that are hosted at the university and seek opportunities to ask a question or contribute to the subject at hand. I shall participate in debate events organized by the student organizations, the university or any other public organization and hosted within the university. I shall also be involved in public events such as volunteering events organized by the university and the student organizations. Through these events, I shall be able to engage in different activities that boost my civic engagement.

Volunteer opportunities will be my main activity in the university and I will take advantage of any chance that arises. These activities are the most important since it enhances my interaction with the community to ensure that I understand the challenges within the community and how to formulate or advocate for better solutions. As a result, the community service activities shall boost my values, skills, and sense of empowerment essential to become an active and responsible citizen. I believe that engagement in different volunteering activities will build my sense of trust, reciprocity, and bonding with others. Hence, it is important for me to take advantage of all volunteer opportunities in the university.

I do plan to go for further studies abroad and if possible sing up for an internship. My ambition for studying abroad aims at broadening my world views as well as the ways of thinking through experiencing and being part of different cultures. Moreover, studying abroad will offer me opportunities to experience life more and gain more personal connections. It will also improve my leadership development particularly during interaction with various cultures. Abroad studies shall offer personal growth and development opportunities by imparting life experience and self-confidence. Hence, I find it important to go for further studies abroad in the future.

The participation in different organizations, activities, and events will enhance my ability to participate in the political and civic life in the community, state and nation in different ways. It gives me an understanding of different issues within society and how to solve them. These activities also enhance my leadership skills by experiencing different situations and cultures. It boosts my self-confidence to boost my ability to participate in civic and political life as a responsible citizen.

Conclusion

Overall, university institutions not only focus on academic excellence but also prepare students to become good citizens who participate in political and civic life. The setup and the structures within the universities aim to improve the social and civic engagement of students in various ways. Students are motivated and encouraged to participate in different activities such as students’ organizations, engaged learning, volunteerism, and internships to increase their social and civic engagement. Besides, the residence hall and campus life in general offer opportunities for students to engage in respectful public issues discussions and political activities such as electing their preferred student representation. Through these activities, students are equipped with knowledge and experiences concerning engagement to enhance their civic and political participation.

References

Battistoni, R. M. (2017). Civic engagement across the curriculum: A resource book for service-learning faculty in all disciplines. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Besar, J. A., Jali, M. F. M., Lyndon, N., & Selvadurai, S. (2015). Managing political behavior of University Students. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 48.

Eyler, J., & Giles Jr, D. (2014). The importance of program quality in service-learning. In Service-learning (pp. 75-94). Routledge.

Huda, M., Jasmi, K. A., Alas, Y., Qodriah, S. L., Dacholfany, M. I., & Jamsari, E. A. (2018). Empowering civic responsibility: Insights from service learning. In Engaged scholarship and civic responsibility in higher education (pp. 144-165). IGI Global.

Planas, A., Soler, P., Fullana, J., Pallisera, M., & Vilà, M. (2013). Student participation in university governance: the opinions of professors and students. Studies in Higher Education, 38(4), 571-583.

Tierney, F. W. (2012). Awesome community programming in freshman residence halls: education through engagement (Doctoral dissertation).