Political literacy — you may be familiar with it against a myriad of other political buzzwords, yet its vital role in fulfilling your civic responsibilities is frequently overlooked. According to the research database EBSCO, political literacy is defined as “the ability of individuals to engage effectively in their nation’s governance, primarily through informed political education.”
High levels of political literacy can range from knowledge on how government institutions work, to who representatives are, to what proposed legislation is. However, recent data signals poor political literacy rates in the U.S., for example fewer than half of the U.S. adult population is capable of recalling the names of all three government branches.
People’s mere inability to remember content from their elementary civics classes suggests challenges in fostering informed civic engagement with the U.S. political system. Accurate education on the government plays a vital part in counteracting misinformation gleaned during the process of political socialization, when people acquire their political and belief systems.
Since family is regarded as the largest influence during this time, both subconscious and outspoken biases can be imprinted onto children due to social referencing and non-verbal communication signals. This can also include the implicit perpetuation of stereotypes and broad linguistic generalizations about certain groups, often based on subjective opinions and occasionally rooted in inaccurate perceptions of others.
These misconceptions, fueled by misinformation (misleading) and disinformation (deliberately false), can in addition undermine trust of institutions such as the government and the media. Reaching students is challenging due to a generational information gap and algorithm-driven echo chambers that limit shared media exposure. The Stanford Social Innovation Review promotes integrating civic, democratic, and media education into local topics to rehabilitate information ecosystems and show individual impact.
An article for the journal Cogent Education, in general, recommends the inclusion of political topics into school curriculums in order to prepare students to be members of a democratic society and raise voting rates by spreading awareness about the impact of political decisions and voting rights. Another article corroborates this sentiment by creating the benchmark that when people reach 18, the age that citizens of most developed countries can vote, they should be able to participate in political debates and make political decisions, both evidence-based.
Concepts can consist of learning about freedom of speech, rule of law, and minority rights — all essential to fostering differing opinions, developing critical thought skills for engaging with online content, holding public figures accountable, and disrupting social processes that can cultivate extremist ideologies. If not learned, misinformation and extremism often flourish.
Recognizing the importance of civic skills, the Maryland Civic Education Coalition developed a list of 10 effective practices for civic education. At the core are six evidence-based strategies that have gained general consensus since 2003: (1) offer civics courses in schools, (2) provide platforms for discussions of controversial topics, (3) connect community service to classroom learning, (4) have student-led associations, (5) implement feedback from students, and (6) host adult civic roles simulations, including, but are not limited to, mock trials and Model UN.
They then expand on this list with news media literacy, action civics, socioemotional learning, and school climate reform. Firstly, news media literacy works to combat the influx of propaganda and the abandonment of fact-checking by certain outlets, which can erode overall trust in the government. Action civics compared to service learning teaches students about systemic causes behind issues, not just how to respond, while socioemotional learning causes students to reflect on how they identify issues and make a positive change.
Lastly, school climate reform addresses the racial disparities present with the “school-to-prison” pipeline and promotes restorative justice approaches at school. In 2024, the Department of Education corroborated this sentiment by publishing a study that concluded a comprehensive political education should incorporate these standards vertically (grades) and horizontally (subjects). They also emphasized school principals operating as a pivotal figure in cultivating a culture of tolerance and respect for diverse perspectives via guidelines and protocols.
All of these function as preventive methods against the potential harmful effects of politically illiterate individuals. This is not to say differing opinions are not valid, but instead that some are the result of never learning how to properly discern accurate information. For instance, people who fall under this category have been known to demotivate others from voting, and therefore reduce the level of representation present in the government.
A 2020 Knight Foundation survey discovered non-voters are twice as likely as active voters to passively encounter political information, and to report they don’t feel sufficiently informed about candidates and issues to vote. A 2017 Pew study demonstrated how politically illiterate citizens frequently internalize negative feelings about democratic processes such as voting — active voters largely believe voting does affect the government and are three times more likely than unregistered voters to say good citizens should vote.
To conclude, a political education underscores strong democracies by promoting democratic behaviors such as voting and frequent political engagement, as well as counteracts misinformation and further disillusionment. Although the importance of political education is the primary focus of this article, that’s not to say people past their rudimentary education cannot develop these same skills too.