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Political Discussion and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New Democracy: The 2002 Kenya National Civic Education Program
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Political Discussion and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New
Democracy: The 2002 Kenya National Civic Education Program
Steven E. Finkel and Amy Erica Smith
Department of Political Science
University of Pittsburgh
## email not listed ##
## email not listed ##
Prepared for delivery at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, Massachusetts, August 28-31, 2008. We thank Michael Muindi, Joah Mboga, Jacinta Mulwa and the entire research team from Research International, Kenya for their efforts in the data collection activities. We also are grateful for the cooperation and support of Roberta Warren and Lynn Carter at Management Systems International, the staff at USAID/Nairobi, Gary Hansen of the Democracy and Governance office USAID/Washington and Harry Blair of Yale University.
Abstract
How do adults in new democracies develop democratic values and learn about the political system? Using a unique three-wave panel data set collected in Kenya over a period spanning the transitional democratic election of December 2002, we posit a two-step process of social transmission of democratic knowledge, norms and values. Individuals exposed to democratic messages in the country-wide National Civic Education Program became opinion leaders, communicating their new knowledge and attitudes to neighbors, family members, and friends within their social networks, many of whom had not been directly exposed to the program. Using fixed effects longitudinal models, we show that individuals with no personal exposure to the program who discussed others’ civic education experiences experienced significant growth in political knowledge, participation, tolerance, and national as opposed to tribal identification, in many instances more than individuals in the formal treatment group. Moreover, we find some evidence of interaction effects between post-civic education discussion and an individual’s prior political resources, such that discussions have the greatest impact on individuals who would appear to “need” it the most: those with less education and those who are less integrated into secondary associations.
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Political Discussion and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New
Democracy: The 2002 Kenya National Civic Education Program
Steven E. Finkel and Amy Erica Smith
Department of Political Science
University of Pittsburgh
Prepared for delivery at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston,
Massachusetts, August 28-31, 2008. We thank Michael Muindi, Joah Mboga, Jacinta Mulwa and the
entire research team from Research International, Kenya for their efforts in the data collection activities.
We also are grateful for the cooperation and support of Roberta Warren and Lynn Carter at Management
Systems International, the staff at USAID/Nairobi, Gary Hansen of the Democracy and Governance
office USAID/Washington and Harry Blair of Yale University.
Abstract
How do adults in new democracies develop democratic values and learn about the political system?
Using a unique three-wave panel data set collected in Kenya over a period spanning the transitional
democratic election of December 2002, we posit a two-step process of social transmission of democratic
knowledge, norms and values. Individuals exposed to democratic messages in the country-wide National
Civic Education Program became opinion leaders, communicating their new knowledge and attitudes to
neighbors, family members, and friends within their social networks, many of whom had not been directly
exposed to the program. Using fixed effects longitudinal models, we show that individuals with no
personal exposure to the program who discussed others’ civic education experiences experienced
significant growth in political knowledge, participation, tolerance, and national as opposed to tribal
identification, in many instances more than individuals in the formal treatment group. Moreover, we find
some evidence of interaction effects between post-civic education discussion and an individual’s prior
political resources, such that discussions have the greatest impact on individuals who would appear to
“need” it the most: those with less education and those who are less integrated into secondary
associations.
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