Millennials: Shifting Values and Influences for Civic Engagement

Abstract

Civic engagement is a complex field of study covering a spectrum of activities and is well-documented, especially among the millennial generation. Individuals of Generation Y, also referred to as millennials, are quickly approaching the point of becoming members of the largest living adult generation. Past research has indicated what motivates an individual to initiate civic engagement, but motivators that cause one to get involved civically often are not the same reasons that sustain civic engagement. However, getting on the pathway to civic engagement is a critical step to becoming an active and engaged citizen. To gain a better understanding of factors that initiate engagement, this study was conducted with a sample of millennials (n = 159) participating in 13 service-learning classes at a public land grant university. This report shares results from that study examining the values and influences of several possible “initiating factors” for civic engagement using Pancer’s (2015) Integrative Theory of Civic Engagement.