Civic Engagement and Activism: Do College Students and College Athletes Differ?

Abstract

This study uses measures from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement to examine rates of volunteerism, use of political voice, and electoral indicators between college students and college student-athletes attending three institutions with Division I athletic programs. Findings illustrate increased volunteer behaviors of athletes, coupled with lower participation in political activities and relatively low interest in electoral practices as compared to college students overall. Student-athlete civic engagement is discussed in the context of previous research indicating student-athlete reluctance to engage in political activism and recent student-athlete activism on issues of student-athlete treatment and welfare.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anne Browning

1

Jennifer Lee Hoffman ([email protected]) is an assistant professor in the Center for Leadership in Athletics and the College of Education at the University of Washington in Seattle. Lisa A. Kihl ([email protected]) is an associate professor of sport management in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. Anne Browning ([email protected]) is the director of Academic Support Programs in Undergraduate Academic Affairs and a lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Washington in Seattle. The authors would like to thank Lydia Bell for her contributions to earlier versions of this manuscript.