This book explores how community influences civic engagement, focusing on the case of Ghana. It offers an interdisciplinary perspective to those studying psychology, political development and civic engagement in African countries. Previous research has shown that the social and economic context in which an individual interacts influences their political behaviors and attitudes, and that personal characteristics account for differences in political behavior and attitudes. This work moves away from the cultural demographics of a person, which often take center stage in existing investigations of partisan political behavior in the African context, and addresses the following five questions:
(1) To what extent do individual traits influence civic engagement in Ghana?
(2) To what extent is community identity similar or different in small rural villages versus large metropolitan areas in Ghana and how does community identity influence civic engagement?
(3) To what extent does trust influence civic engagement in Ghana?
(4) What factors and activities influence political knowledge and how does political knowledge influence civic engagement?
(5) What is the status of women in civic engagement?
Author(s): Mary R. Anderson, Kevin S. Fridy
Series: Development, Justice and Citizenship
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 142
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Authors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
Outline of the Book
References
2 Literature on Civic Engagement
Demographics
Sense of Community
Trust
Political Knowledge
Personality
Women
Summary
References
3 Measuring Civic Engagement
The Ghanaian Case
Urban Accra and Rural North
Measuring Civic Engagement
References
4 Demographics
Overall Demographic Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics by Region
Demographic-Civic Participation Relationship
References
5 Sense of Community
Analysis
Conclusion
Appendix A: Sense of Community Index (SCI)
Appendix B: Descriptive Statistics of Variables in Models
References
6 Trust
Measuring Approval
Analysis
Conclusions
References
7 Political Knowledge
Analysis
What Ghanaians Know?
What Influences Political Knowledge Scores?
How Does Political Knowledge Impact Civic Engagement?
Conclusions
References
8 Personality
Research Design and Analysis
Dependent Variables
Conclusion
References
9 Women
Gender and Participation
Complicating the Relationship Between Gender and Civic Engagement
Conclusions
References
10 Community Engagement, Civic Education, and Democratic Governance
Voices from Within
Effective Participation in the Political Process
Civic Education and Society
A Positive Relationship Between National, Regional, and District Offices Toward Meeting Goals
Conclusion
Appendix 10A
Reference
References
Index
