The North Carolina Civic Health Index 2010 indicates that the state has the potential to flex its civic might, but there are serious gaps in civic participation that are cause for concern, said Kelley O’Brien, director of the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium. The consortium is based in the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. O’Brien shared the results of the index recently at the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ 2010 Youth Summit in Winston-Salem.
The North Carolina Civic Health Index 2010 indicates that the state has the potential to flex its civic might, but there are serious gaps in civic participation that are cause for concern, said Kelley O’Brien, director of the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium. The consortium is based in the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. O’Brien shared the results of the index recently at the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ 2010 Youth Summit in Winston-Salem.
North Carolina is one of 13 states and four cities that partnered with the National Conference on Citizenship to assess state and local civic health with the purpose of documenting — and ultimately improving — civic engagement. The index includes recommendations for individuals, policymakers, educators and community organizations about ways to improve the state’s civic health.
O’Brien identified the following key findings of the index:
- North Carolina’s young people — the future leaders of our state and our communities—are the least civically engaged of any age group in North Carolina. Without civic engagement among young people, the civic health of the state lies in the balance.
- The state’s civil society — the voluntary and social organizations that make communities work — is led by a small and homogeneous group of older, college-educated, mostly white residents who are involved in religious organizations. Moreover, few young people, Hispanics and African Americans are participating in groups or organizations. These gaps along economic, geographic and educational lines, if not addressed, have the potential to perpetuate a cycle of civic apathy.
- North Carolinians without college experience are notably more likely to have strong personal connections to family and friends and to help neighbors than those who have some college education. Rural residents have a higher level of “connectedness” than those living in metropolitan areas.
- North Carolinians with some college education are more than twice as likely as those with no college experience to access the news frequently and engage in political discussions with others.
- Voting in the 2008 presidential election is the single measure of civic engagement on which North Carolina performed above the national average.
“We hope that this report serves as a vehicle to empower North Carolinians to turn inward to solve local problems, thereby creating a more active and engaged citizenry,” said David B. Smith, executive director of National Conference on Citizenship.
The conference has published America’s Civic Health Index annually since 2006. In 2009, it formalized a partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Corporation for National and Community Service to develop, refine and implement annual measures of America’s civic health. The N.C. Civic Health Index is overseen by a team of organizations committed to advancing civic engagement in the state, including Democracy North Carolina, N.C. Campus Compact, N.C. Center for Voter Education, N.C. Civic Education Consortium, and the department of public policy at Western Carolina University. Funding to support the index was provided by the Center for Civic Education.
The N.C. Civic Health Index 2010 is available at www.civics.org/ncchi/. The website includes a thorough examination of key findings, recommendations, high-resolution charts and contact information for all partner organizations.
N.C. Civic Education Consortium contact: Kelley O’Brien, (919) 962-8273, obrien@sog.unc.edu
School of Government contact: Ellen Bradley, (919) 843-6527, bradley@sog.unc.edu