Socw 6361 WK 11 discussion 2: Becoming a Lifelong Advocate

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PREDICTORS OF POLITICAL ACTIVISM AMONG SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS

Eric W. Swank Morehead State University

This article identifies factors inspiring greater political participation among

imdergraduate social work students (N=125). When separating students into

self-identified liberals and conservatives, the study uses resource, mobilizing,

and framing variables to explain greater levels of activism. After several multi-

variate regressions, this article concludes that political activism is spurred by

many motivators. For liberals and conservatives, belonging to an activist net-

work and maintaining activist identities were crucial to different modes of

activism. Moreover, the perceived legitimacy of traditional institutions predict-

ed protest actions of liberals and conservatives, whereas notions of collective

efficacy influenced only electoral activism. Finally, demographic status mat-

tered only for conservative students, as female and African American conserva-

tives were less likely to protest than male and Euro American conservatives.

WHEN CONTESTING CULTURAL p r e j u d i c e s a n d

structural inequalities, much of social work

practice has a political nature. Social workers

can try to change institutional causes of pover-

ty, homelessness, drug abuse, sexual violence,

heterosexism, and other social ills by entering

the political process that creates and imple-

ments detrimental policies. As such, profes-

sional organizations urge political participa-

tion for social workers. The preamble for the

2008 National Association of Social Workers

(NASW) Code of Ethics reads: "Social workers

promote social justice and social change with

and on the behalf of clients." Several practices

accomplish this, including "direct practice,

community organizing, social and political

activism" (NASW, 2008). To prepare future

professionals, the Council on Social Work Edu-

cation (CSWE) in their accreditation standards

insists that social work programs should foster

a commitment to political action by including

content on "social or political action" (CSWE,

2001, B4.1.3, M4.1.3). Other orgarüzations also

base their entire missions around politically

mobilizing social workers (e.g.. Social Welfare

Action Alliance, Influencing State Policy).

2 4 6 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

Although political activism has always

been a part of social work practice, scholars

believe that the extent of social worker

activism has ebbed and fiowed throughout

history (MuUalay, 1993). Since the beginning

of the Reagan administration, commentators

have warned that the social work profession

has become too micro oriented and has neg-

lected its activist mission (Abramowitz, 1998;

Fisher, 1995; Specht & Courtney, 1993).

Such debates fiourish in discussions of

social work students as well. One study con-

tends that a "desire to create social change" is

a major motive for students choosing social

work (Hanson & McCullagh, 1995, p. 35),

whereas two other studies suggest that social

work students are not enamored with poUfical

activism and prefer a career in micro practice

(Aviram & Katan, 1991; Butler, 1990). On top

of contradictory descriptive findings, only a

few multivariate studies try to explain why

social work students would be politically

active. The current study extends this litera-

ture by examining the political actions of stu-

dents in bachelor's of social work (BSW) pro-

grams. In doing so, this article tries to identify

the factors that differentiate the politically

active from the politically lethargic. With a

focus on factors that may inspire and hinder

activism, this work integrates insights from

many academic disciplines. The much-cited

resource model of political science guides this

study's theoretical conceptualizations (Brady,

Verba, & Scholzman, 1995) as do the sociolog-

ical theories of "mobilization structures"

(McAdam & Paulsen, 1993; McCarthy, 1996;

Passy, 2001) and "collective action frames"

(Gamson, 1992; Klandermans, 1997; Snow &

Benford, 1992). This work also taps the nas-

cent literature on activism among social work

stiadents (Aviram & Katan, 1991; Butler, 1990;

Rocha, 2000; Swank & Fahs, 2011; Weiss, 2003)

and employed social workers (e.g., Dudziak &

Coates, 2004; Ezell, 1993; Hamilton & Fauri,

2001; Parker & Sherraden, 1992; Reeser, 1992;

Ritter, 2008; Wölk, 1981).

When addressing these debates and gaps

within the empirical literature, this study asks

two research questions: First, how pouticaUy

active are imdergraduate social worker stu-

dents? Second, what factors foster greater

political activism among undergraduate

social work students?

Literature Review

Variable selection in this study is partially

guided by the "resoiuce model" of political

participation (Brady et al., 1995). Offering a

succinct answer as to why people refrain from

politics, the resource model asserts: "because

they can't, because they don't want to, or

because nobody asked" (Brady et al., 1995,

p. 271). "They can't" suggests a dearth of nec-

essary resources to be political. Although cru-

cial resources may come in many forms, these

authors emphasize the importance of financial

situations, free time, and civic skiUs. "They

don't want to" deals with a lack of psycholog-

ical engagement in politics. This indifference

to politics is sometimes seen as political igno-

rance, but the resource model assumes that

this is a reaction to a lower sense of political

efficacy and greater levels of individualism.

"Nobody asked" implies that people are iso-

lated from the recruitment networks that

move citizens into action.

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 4 7

They Can't: Class, Race, and Gender Gaps

According to the authors of the resource

model (Brady et al., 1995), socioeconomic

standing (SES) is a powerful variable that

drives polifical parficipafion for members of

every social group in society (e.g., SES works

across race, gender, and occupafional bound-

aries). In the simplest of terms, a person's

class locafion grants or impedes access to

opportunities and financial resources that

make polifical acfivism easier.

Numerous studies argue that affiuence

predicts polifical acfivism in samples of the

general pubHc (Barkan, Cohn, & Whitaker,

1995; Brady et al., 1995; Leighley & Vedlitz,

1999; OUver, 1984; Täte, 1991; Waüace & Jen-

kins, 1995) and coüegiate undergraduates (Dey,

1997; Paulsen, 1994). When examirving social

workers, the impact of income on acfivism is

less clear. A few studies argue that social work-

ers are more polifical when they have higher

incomes and more financial assets (Parker &

Sherraden, 1992; WoDs, 1981). Other sfiidies,

however, find no such relafionship (Andrews,

1998; Ezeü, 1993; Hamüton & Fauri, 2001;

Ritter, 2008).

The resource model also asserts that educa-

fional attainment leads to greater polifical

engagement. A set of general populafion stud-

ies connects greater educafional attainment to

greater levels of electoral and protest acfivism

(Finkel & MuUer, 1998; Kingston & Finkel, 1987;

Leighley & VedHtz, 1999; Lim, 2008; Wallace &

JerJdns, 1995). Studies among social workers

often highlight the effects of educafion. Higher

levels of educafional attainment seem to inspire

greater levels of acfivism among pracficing

social workers (Andrews, 1998; Chui & Gray,

2004; Ezeü, 1993; Parker & Sherraden, 1992;

Wölk, 1981). Among social work students, it is

possible that the complefion of certain classes

makes students more poUfically acfive (Rocha,

2000; Swank & Fahs, 2011; Van Soest, 1996; Van

Voorhis & Hostetter, 2006). However, Van Soest

(1996) caufioned that finishing a class on op-

pression did not lead to higher advocacy inten-

fioris, and Weiss and Kaufman (2006) noted

that BSW students were less wuling to engage

in social acfion after they did a field placement

in organizations that emphasized polifical

change. Finally, educafional attainment meas-

ures were insigriificant in the most comprehen-

sive mulfivariate study on social worker poHfi-

cal parficipafion (Rifter, 2008).

Previous studies have sometimes found

liriks between polifical parficipafion and one's

gender and race background. For example,

African American high school and coüege

students protested more regiüarly than Euro

American students in the 1970s (Paulsen,

1994) and in the 1990s (Dolan, 1995). Social

work studies have occasionaüy confirmed this

paftem. Two studies foimd that African Amer-

ican social workers and MSW students wrote

more lefters to Congress, aftended more polit-

ical meetings, and joined more community

organizing eftorts than White Euro Americans

with lesser academic degrees (Ezell, 1993;

Rocha, 2000). Nevertheless, four studies

argued that race backgroimd of respondents

was irrelevant when addressing the electoral

acfivifies of social workers (Andrews, 1998;

Parker & Sherraden, 1992; Rifter, 2008; Wölk,

1981).

2 4 8 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

The relafionship between gender status

and poUfical parficipafion is far from certain.

Some studies suggest that up until the 1970s

women were sUghtly less likely to vote or join

polifical protests (Barkan et al., 1995; Kingston

& Finkel, 1987; WaUace & Jenkins, 1995). Con-

versely, studies on contemporary populafions

suggest that this gender gap has disappeared

or has even been reversed (Bean, 1991; Eckberg,

1988; Hritzuk & Park, 2000; Leighley & Nagler,

1992; Paulsen, 1994; Schussman & Soule, 2005;

Täte, 1991). Studies on a polifical acfion gender

gap among social workers were more conclu-

sive. Only one study of social workers in Hong

Kong found that male respondents were more

polifically acfive (Chui & Gray, 2004). In every

other study, gender failed to predict the poHfi-

cal engagement of social workers (Andrews,

1998; Ritter, 2008; Rocha, 2000; Wölk, 1981).

Transifion into marriage or divorce can

influence a person's polifical acfivifies (Fahs,

2007; Stoker & Jennings, 1995). The early stages

of marriage can suppress polifical engagement

for both men and women (Cole, Zucker, &

Ostrove, 1998; Kingston & Vinkel, 1987; Opp,

1990; Stoker & Jennings, 1995), whereas other

studies contend that long-term married people

were more likely to vote (Leighley & Vedlitz,

1999). Ending marriages can also poUficize

women because divorced women are more

likely to engage in feminist acfivism (Cole et

al., 1998; Fahs, 2007). Conversely, some sfiidies

concluded that marital status was a poor pre-

dictor of political practices (Dolan, 1995;

Hritzuk & Park, 2000; Paulsen, 1994; Schuss-

man & Soule, 2005).

Living in large metropolitan centers can

sometimes inspire more acfivism (Bean, 1991).

For example, urban African Americans were

more likely to join the civil rights movement

(Beyerlein & Andrews, 2008) or vote in the

1980s (Täte, 1991). Among social workers,

urban social workers were more poHficaUy

acfive than their rural counterparts (Ritter,

2008).

They Don't Want To: Framing Grievances, Efficacy, and Coliective Identities

Frames are generally conceived as cultural

tools or schémas that provide "tacit theories

about what exists, what happens, and what

matters" (Gitlin, 1980, p. 6). Although frames

help with the classificafion and organizafion

of incoming stimuli, they also serve a polifical

funcfion. Convenfional frames acquire the

consent of subordinates by portraying the

social order as proper, normal, and inevitable.

By seeking widespread conformity, main-

stream narrafives get people to subscribe to

values, ideals, and self-defirüfions that bind

them to their social locafion. CoUecfive acfion

frames are the set of beliefs that mofivate peo-

ple into joining collecfive efforts that publicly

seek social change.

Movement theorists have identified sev-

eral dimensions of collecfive acfion frames

(Ashmore, Deaux, & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004;

Gamson, 1992; Klandermans, 1997). First, col-

lecfive acfion frames inifiaUy reinterpret some

societal norms as wrong, unacceptable, and

unjust. Second, frames identify the causes of

the injusfice. By serving as a diagnosfic func-

fion, frames are efiologies that explain why

problems exist and assign levels of blame or

culpability to different enfifies. Third, frames

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 4 9

also convince bystanders that they should use

polifical tacfics to stop these violafions. This

prognosfic aspect of frames usuaUy empha-

sizes the urgency of poUfical acfion and a

sense that chaUenges from less powerful con-

sfituencies can force concessions from a reluc-

tant target (this is sometimes referred to as

agency or a sense of collective efficacy). FinaUy,

frames must provide a coUecfive or shared

idenfity among the aggrieved. In doing so,

coUecfive idenfifies estabUsh social bound-

aries between "us" and "them" by specifying

who belongs to the righteous in-group of the

mistreated and who represents the antagonis-

tic wrongdoers who must be mobilized

against. These coUecfive idenfifies often con-

test and refute societal claims that members of

their group are inferior, worthless, sick, or

maladjusted. Instead, coUecfive acfion frames

offer narrafives about the virtues of simUar

people and claim that their group is ülegiti-

mately threatened, deprived, or mistreated.

Numerous studies concur that injusfice

frames are relevant to joining social move-

ments (Finkel & Müller, 1998). Feminist

acfivism occurred more often when women

noficed power imbalances between men and

women (Cole et al., 1998; KeUy & Breilinger,

1995), whereas civU rights acfivism was more

common when African Americans saw sys-

temafic forms of racial discriminafion (Beyer-

lein & Andrews, 2008; Täte, 1991). Antinuclear

acfivists beUeved that atomic energy was dan-

gerous (Opp, 1990), anfiwar acfivists saw for-

eign poUcy as immoral (Swank & Fahs, 2011;

Wood & Ng, 1980), himger acfivists saw struc-

tural causes for starvafion (Barkan et al.,

1995), and students who recognized discrimi-

natory marriage laws were more Ukely to

protest for gay and lesbian rights (Simon,

Lowry, Stürmer, Weber, & Freitag, 1998).

Social work research on poUfical parfici-

pafion has mostly ignored the role of injusfice

frames. Two rare studies found that MSW stu-

dents who beUeved in a just world advocated

for women, people of color, and homosexuals

less often (Van Soest, 1996; Van Voorhis &

Hostetter, 2006). Moreover, IsraeU BSW stu-

dents endorsed poUfical acfivism more freely

when they saw poverty emanating from a lack

of jobs and discriminafion (Weiss, 2003), and

anfiwar acfivism was more comm.on among

U.S. social work students when they doubted

American efforts at spreading democracy

throughout the world (Swank & Fahs, 2011).

Although percepfions of social biases and

discriminafion offer an impetus for poUfical

acfivism, these thoughts by themselves do not

guarantee that political action will occur.

People who see unfair practices may be

resigned to endure or cooperate with oppres-

sive insfitufions when they think the status

quo is unable to be changed or altered by non-

elites. Accordingly, some argue that sympa-

thefic bystanders must feel that their contribu-

fions wiU add to a movement's success before

they join a poUfical movement.

To date, the role of power interpretafions

in poUfical acfivism is far from settled. Some

works contend that percepfions of personal

efficacy (Hritzuk & Park, 2000; Leighley &

VedUtz, 1999; Lim, 2008) and coUecfive effica-

cy are crucial to acfivism (Barkan et al., 1995;

Beyerlein & Andrews, 2008). Accordingly, it

has been foimd that coUege students are more

likely to be poUficaUy acfive when they think

2 5 0 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

that the government is responsive to citizen

demands (Dolan, 1995), and women were

more likely join feminist mobilizations when

they felt that they had a firm grasp of politi-

cal affairs and when they thought the

women's movement was powerful (Cole et

al., 1998). Conversely, some studies insist that

a sense of efficacy has little to do with partic-

ipation in the women's movement (Kelly &

Breüinger, 1995), liberal activism (Schussman

& Soule, 2005), antinuclear protests (Opp,

1990), and youth movements (Bean, 1991;

Paulsen, 1994).

The occasional social work activism stud-

ies have found credence in the efficacy

hypothesis (Ritter, 2008; Swank & Fahs, 2011).

Hamilton and Fauri (2001) discovered that

politically engaged social workers expressed

more political efficacy; Pawlack and Fljmn

(1990) noted that social work administrators

refrained from political activism when they

believed that their activism could lead to neg-

ative repercussions for themselves or their

agency.

Issues of collective identities and self con-

cepts can change a person's political behav-

iors in many ways. Advocacy on behalf of

oneself and others is often interwoven with

issues of self-conceptions and moral obliga-

tions. Accordingly, activist identities were

often connected to narratives of how to dis-

play a desired or idealized self and how to uve

a principled life (Kelly & Breilinger, 1995; Oli-

ver, 1984; Opp, 1990; Polleta & Jasper, 2001).

To people who internalize activist identities,

political engagement is an opportunity to

express key moral convictions and to act upon

obligations of reciprocity, fairness, and con-

cern for the common good.

Empirical studies have noted that the

purposive incentives of adhering to moral

codes and the commitment to social justice

were strong predictors of antinuclear activism

in Germany (Opp, 1990), feminist activism in

Britain (Kelly & Breilinger, 1995), and peace

activism in the United States (Swank, 1994). In

studies of social workers, ethical reasons for

activism were especially important (Swank &

Fahs, 2011). A study of Israeli social work stu-

dents discovered a greater willingness to be

politically involved when the students saw a

congruency between social work and social

action (Weiss & Kaufman, 2006). Similarly,

one study found higher political participation

among professors who thought social work

was "inherently political" and that it is an eth-

ical responsibility to engage in political activi-

ties (Mary, 2001); another foimd that agency

directors were less politically active when

they thought such actions were inappropriate

for a person in their profession (Pawlak &

Flynn, 1990). Finally, Reeser (1992) discovered

that social workers whose primary loyalty

was with clients were more committed to

social action than employees who voiced a

stronger loyalty to their agency's rules and

regulations.

Nobody Asked: Social Networks and

Mobiiizing Structures

Theories about mobilizing structures suggest

that residing in certain social environments

fosters greater political activism (McAdam &

Paulsen, 1993; McCarthy, 1996; Passy, 2001;

Polleta and Jasper, 2001). Social networks,

which represent webs of recurring interac-

tions among people and groups, always con-

vey some sort of beliefs, values, norms, and

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 5 1

identities. Most people derive their world- views and identities through institutions and networks that praise prevailing social orders, but some networks carry messages that polit- ical challenges are necessary, important, and worthwhile.

The proposition that social networks shape political behaviors has drawn consider- able interest in movement and participation studies (Cole et al, 1998; Finkel & Muller, 1998; Lim, 2008; Täte, 1991). Many sorts of contextual and institutional settings can make people predisposed or receptive to political activism. The messages received in familial and peer groupings can have a major impact on political inclinations (Chom-Dunham & Bengston, 1992; Dolan, 1995). Accordingly, studies of the general population suggest that citizens are more likely to be antinuclear, civil rights, and gay rights activists when they think that their friends and acquaintances approve of such actions (Beyerlein & Andrews, 2008; Opp, 1990; Simon et al., 1998). Such associatioris may be linked to the emo- tional rewards of adhering to the directives of significant others who encourage political engagement.

Although general population studies often discover a Unk between referent atti- tudes and political activism, this has not always been the case in studies on social work activism. Some studies confirm the socializa- tion argument. Recently, Ritter (2008) and Chui and Gray (2004) concluded that social workers were more engaged in activism when they discussed politics with colleagues and family members. Similarly, in a study of peace activism among social work students. Swank and Fahs (2011) discovered a connection

between having liberal friends and protesting wars. Nevertheless, other studies yielded con- tradictory results. Ezell (1993) and Hamilton and Fauri (2001) found no relationship among the frequency of political conversations with one's coworkers, one's famuy of origin, and the amount of political activism among employed social workers.

Although social networks often encour- age the acceptance or rejection of specific col- lective action frames, they also serve as con- duits of important information about political events. Political parties, committed partisans, and movement activists often try to motivate activism through different persuasive tech- niques (e.g., face-to-face conversations, phone calls, e-mail, direct mail, etc.). Although each recruitment pitch converted some sympathet- ic bystanders into activists, people were more likely to engage in political actions when they were encouraged or asked to be active by someone whom they personally knew (Firikel & Müller, 1998; Hritzuk & Park, 2000; Lim, 2008; McAdam & Paulsen, 1993; Nepsted & Smith, 1999; Schussman & Soule, 2005, Swank & Fahs, 2011). In fact, a 22-variable study on the general populace found that being asked to participate in a protest was the best predic- tor of actually appearing in a protest in the last year (Schussman & Soule, 2005), as did a 17-variable study on licensed social workers (Ritter, 2008).

The following analysis explored the pre- dictive capabilities of resource, framing, and mobilizing variables with regard to political activism among undergraduate social work students. By regressing political behaviors on the 12 variables of family income, education, gender, race, marital status, urbanity, liberal

2 5 2 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

mothers, acfivist friends, acfivist recruitment

networks, liberal injustice frames, activist

idenfifies, and percepfions to the data from a

miüfi-college sample, this study idenfified the

factors that distinguished between more or

less polificaüy acfive BSW students.

Method

Sampling

This analysis emerged from an original survey

of coüege students (distributed in the faü of

2000). As expected, the study has Insfitufional

Review Board approval and parficipafion was

anonymous and voluntary. Although coüegiate

studies regularly restrict themselves to a single

campus, this study randomly selected 12 U.S.

coüeges. To create a stratified sample, this

study inifiaüy separated au pubUc campuses

into research, doctoral, master's, or baccalaure-

ate clusters (using the Carnegie Classificafion

of Insfitufions of Higher Educafion). This cre-

afion of four clusters enabled access to students

from many types of colleges (from large

research campuses to smaüer state-run com-

muter coüeges). Next, three schools were ran-

domly selected from each of the four stratums.

The schools selected were the University of Del-

aware, University of Oregon, and University of

Texas (research schools); the Uruversity of North

Carolina-Greensboro, University of Massachu-

setts Lowell, and Rutgers (doctoral schools);

Longwood Coüege, University of Southern

Maine, and Urüversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay

(master's); and Evergreen State Coüege, Mesa

State College, and Southeast Arkansas CoUege

(baccalaureate).

After selecting these 12 colleges, the

author contacted faculty from each insfitufion

(via e-maü). Professors in the natural sciences,

humanifies, social sciences, and business were

asked to administer surveys in their class-

rooms because student atfitudes have previ-

ously differed by such majors (Asfin, 1993).

With parficipafion being purely voluntary, 28

of the 338 contacted professors decided to dis-

tribute and coüect the surveys during one of

their class sessions (8.2%). Four of these pro-

fessors taught in BSW programs, and they

provided the data for this study.

Clearly this response rate was neither

high nor random. Professors who never read

e-mail automatically removed themselves

from the sample and the willingness to dis-

tribute the surveys was not constant through-

out the different t5^es of schools and disci-

plines. For the sample of all professors,

around 2% of the research professors distrib-

uted surveys, whereas 13% of professors at

master's-granting universifies did so. Like-

wise, less than 1% of chemistry, biology, and

physics professors assisted in this project

whereas professors in polifical science, sociol-

ogy, and social work were most recepfive to

requests for parficipafion (11%). Of the social

work professors who actuaüy distributed sur-

veys, au taught research .or policy classes.

In total, 125 BSW students completed the

survey. As expected, this sample had a high

proporfion of women (89% female). The sam-

ple also had a high percentage of rural resi-

dents (i.e., only 24% of the students claimed to

be from large metropolitan areas, 28% resided

in midsize cifies, whereas 48% came from

small towns or rural backgroimds). However,

the racial breakdown seemed to mirror that of

many pubUc insfitufions—85% of the sample

was Euro American, 8% was African Ameri-

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 5 3

can, 5% was Latino(a), and less than 1% were Nafive or Asian American. Likewise, the age pyramid conformed to familiar trends—the mean age was 26 and 49% of the students were between 18 and 22 years old (standard deviafion equaled 9.5 and the mode was 21 years old). Finally, the social-class composi- tion of the sample was slightly skewed toward lower middle incomes. Twenty-seven percent of the students reported a family income of less than $20,000 a year, 31% had incomes between $21,000 and $40,000, 28% had incomes firom $41,000 to $80,000, and 14% had family incomes that were more than $81,000.

Measures

The dependent variables focused on the explicit ways in which social workers can influence governmental decisions (Gray, Col- lett van Rooyen, Remue, & Gaha, 2002; Ritter, 2008). Individual efforts to change state poli- cies often come through two avenues. One channel is when cifizens express their con- cerns to government leaders through the orthodox or insider avenues of electoral poli- tics. This approach uses insfitufionalized tac- tics to shape the legislative process or improve the electability of polifical candi- dates (e.g., testifying at legislafive hearings, writing letters to Congress, or making polifi- cal donations to favorite politicians). Compared to other tacfics, these approaches take less fime and effort and require little risk (Nepstad & Smith, 1999). By borrowing items from Barnes and Kaase (1979), the electoral- insider tacfics scale was comprised of binary quesfions on pefifion sigrüng, writing poHfi- cal letters, wearing polifical buttons, making

campaign contribufions, or volunteering for polifical cause. Respondents were asked if they have done these acfions throughout their enfire lives (with each item having a yes-no format the total scores ranged between 0 and 5). See Table 1 for descripfive data on these items.

Cifizens can also draw the attenfion of authority figures through "outsider" and con- frontafional means (e.g., engaging in protests, strikes, boycotts, or civu disobedience). As a whole, outsider tacfics require greater efforts to join and can be more risky than electoral acfivism (such acfivism can lead to arrest or the possibility of being chasfised or ridiculed for using imconvenfional tacfics). The com- posite scale for outsider-militant actions included one item on joining a demonstrafion and one on engaging in civil disobedience during their Ufetime (with each item having a yes-no format the total score ranged between 0 and 2).

Most of the demographic variables were measured through dichotomous dummy vari- ables. For gender, respondents were asked "What is your sex?" (Female=l, Male=O). For marital status, responses were recorded as sin- gle or other (Single=l, Other=0). Race was determined by their response to "How would you classify your race/ethnicity?" Although it is often methodologically more sound to iden- tify variance by all races, the small number of Asian, Latino(a), and Nafive American stu- dents led to the binary coding of Whites=l and Others=0. To determine urbanness, one quesfion asked: "What is the type of commu- rüty where you spent most of your youth?" Those who answered "rural" and "small town" were considered rural, whereas the

2 5 4 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

answers smaU, midsize, and large metropoU-

tan areas were deemed nonrural (Rviral=l,

Other=0).

Some of the other demographic factors

were measured through closed-ended scales.

Social class was determined through a family

income scale (there were 10 categories that

started at less than $10,000 and ended at more

than $151,000). For educafional attainment,

students were asked, "Please indicate your

highest level of educafion." People who said

they were first-year students received a 1, and

senior students were given a 4.

The concept of mobilizing structures has

been operafionaUzed several ways in earUer

studies of poUfical parficipafion (most often,

studies have explored the value expressed by

other people, the way a person was recruited

to acfivism, and tjrpes of group affUiafions).

The variable of Liberal Mother addressed

issues of fanaiUal polifical sociaUzafion. The

poUfical messages of mothers were highUght-

ed because studies suggest that mothers

inspire more acfivism in their children than do

fathers or other adult caregivers (Chorn-

Dunham & Bengston, 1992; Wood & Ng,

1980). The item posed: "My mother can be

considered a liberal person" {5=strongly agree).

The Acfivist Friends measure dealt with the

approval of acfivism among peer referents

(see Opp, 1990). The prompt asked respon-

dents if their friends generally condone

activism: "Most of my friends think that

acfivism is a posifive thing" {5=strongly agree).

Acfivist Networks dealt with the availabiUty

of "micromobüizafion moments" in which

bystanders meet political recruiters. To

address expUcit face-to-face requests for par-

ficipafion, this study asked, "Have any friends

ever asked you to go to a poUfical event?"

(simUar to Eckberg, 1988).

The coUecfive acfion frames were meas-

ured through Likert scales. The three items in

the Injusfice Framing scale dealt with discon-

tent over the topics of welfare spending,

homosexuaUty, and tradifional family values

(Cronbach's a=.643). These topics represent

key concerns of the social work profession

and most people voice dissafisfacfion with

specific pracfices rather than broad condem-

nafions of entire social systems (Finkel &

MuUer, 1998; Opp, 1989). The concept of col-

lecfive efficacy was assessed through interpre-

tafion of the potenfial efficacy of different

movement tacfics (Finkel & MueUer, 1998).

Four items asked about the how much signa-

ture drives, demonstrations, and sit-ins

helped the social movement achieve its goals

(Cronbach's a=.65O). With codes of "helped a

lot" equaling 5 and "hurt a lot" equaling 1, the

total score in this addifive scale ranged from 4

to 20.

The attributes of social idenfifies have

often been delineated as an individual's

awareness that he or she belongs to a certain

social group, together with the evaluafive and

emofional significance of that membership

(KeUy & Breilinger, 1995). Although closeness

to one's social groups can inspire coUecfive

acfion, some studies have suggested that the

best predictor of acfivism was overfiy defin-

ing oneself as an acfivist (KeUy & Breilinger,

1995). Accordingly, acfivist idenfifies were

traced through a 4-item composite scale that

dealt with several dimensions of poUficized

self-concepts (Cronbach's a=.736). The first

two quesfioris of the acfivist idenfity scale

dealt with the intemaUzafion of protest norms

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 5 5

or the extent to which people felt obliged to

protest: "I see myself as someone who is

involved in promoting social justice" and "I

feel guilty when I am politically active" (Kelly

& Breilinger, 1995; Opp, 1990). Activist identi-

ties also compensated for the "free-rider"

duemma of people benefiting from activism

even if they remained politically disengaged

(Oliver, 1984). Accordingly, one item in the

activist identity scale tapped the conviction

that respondents are personally active to

atone for the political apathy of others: "I

must be politically active because most people

are politically inactive" (5=strongly agree).

With activist identities concentrating on the

need to generate new recruits and political

sympathizers, the fourth item of scale read:

"I try to initiate political conversations"

(5=strongly agree).

Results

Descriptive statistics for the political partici-

pation items are presented in Table 1. Clearly,

electoral activism was a preferred form of

activism with about three-fourths of the stu-

dents signing petitions at least once and

between one-third and one-fourth of the stu-

dents writing a letter, displaying a button, or

volunteering for a political cause. Protest

actions were less common as less than one-

fifth of the students went to a demoristration

and roughly 1 in 20 students participated in

civil disobedience. Although the amount of

activism may not be as high as desired, the

students in the sample were at least twice as

active as the general U.S. population for every

item except for Making a Financial Contri-

bution (Barnes, 1999).

This study ran four ordinary least squares

(OLS) regressions. Each regression used the

full model when estimating the associations

for doing insider and outsider behaviors.

Respondents were divided into liberal and

cor\servative aggregates because political ide-

ologies may alter the effects of different inde-

pendent variables (Hamilton & Fauri, 2001).

In sum, 73 students identified themselves as

left or liberal, and 52 students considered

themselves middle-of-the-road (n=32) or con-

servative (n=20).

TABLE 1. Univariate Statistics for Electoral and Protest Behaviors of Liberal and Conservative Social Work Students

Item Mean

Sign a petition

Write a letter

Display a political button

Office help for a political cause

Financial contribution to political candidate

Electoral scale

Attend a lawful demor\stration

Participate in civil disobedience

Protest scale

95 42

76 34

1.70

0.21

256 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

As with any regression, an OLS deciphers the direct association for each variable when controlling for the influence of the other inde- pendent variables (standardized coefficients), and it discerns the cumulative amount of vari- ance explained by the entire model (R )̂. As expected, the data met the requirements for this analysis because the dependent variable had an interval level of measurement and the sample lacked multicollinearity and heteroskedasticity.

Table 2 presents the associations among the 12 independent variables and the 2

dependent variables for each student sub- group. Some clear pattems emerged when examining the predictive capacities of the model. First, the entire model was relatively robust when predicting different kinds of activism. In each equation, the overall effects of the independent variables displayed sigruf- icant /-scores (3.63-6.37, p<.001). Moreover, the cumulative effects of the 12 variables accounted for at least 26.6% of the variance in the regression for each form of political expressions (one variable reached .412). Although this set of variables fared well for

TABLE 2. Regressions of Electoral and Protest Behaviors Among Liberal and

Conservative

Variable name

Social Work Students (1^125)

Liberal students

Electoral Protest

Conservative

Electoral

students

Protest

Personal qualities

Sex (female)

Single

Race (White)

Rural background

Family income

Education level

Mobilizing structures

Liberal mother

Activist friends

Activist network

Collective action frames

Liberal injustice fiame

Activist identity

Perceived tactics efficacy

Adjusted R^

/-score

-.015 .045

.005

-.069

.076

.079

.031

.148

.372***

.140

.186*

.182*

.266

3.77***

-.095 .071

.053

-.184*

.088

.124

.125

.013

.436***

.288**

.169*

.028

.412

6.37***

-.111 -.176

.201*

-.148

.009

.044

-.020

.080

.352**

-.021

.041

.430***

52 .317

3.63***

-.383** -.041

.091

-.058

.108

.031

-.034

.115

.255*

-.247**

.216*

.102

.394

4.36***

Note. CeU scores are standardized beta coefficients (ß).

*p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001.

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 257

both liberal and conservafive students, the

complete model was somewhat more adept at

predicting outsider pracfices for both sub-

groupings (e.g., for liberal students the adjust-

ed R^ grew from .226 to .412 when comparing

electoral and protest acfivities, whereas the

conservafive students saw an increase of .317

to .394).

When exploring the significance for spe-

cific variables, some clear ftends exist. In start-

ing with the strongest predictor, the mobüiz-

ing factor of acfivist networks was the only

one to remain important throughout every

regression. In presenting beta coefficients

between .436 and .255, activist networks

repeatedly offered the highest associafions

(p<.001 to p<.05). Even with this consistency,

the predictive capabüifies of acfivist networks

wavered a bit because they garnered slightly

lower associafions with the more conservafive

students in this sample (ß feü from .372 and

.436 for the liberals to .352 and .255 for the

conservafives).

Another set of variables saw their impor-

tance altered by the condifions of the regres-

sion. In presenting a relafively stable predic-

tor, the concept of acfivist idenfifies was sig-

nificant for three of the four regressions. The

intemalizafion of personal commitment to

social jusfice was a significant antecedent for

the electoral activifies of liberals and the

protest tendencies for both samples (ß ranged

from .216 to .169, p<.05). However, these betas

were not remarkably high and were not sig-

nificant for the electoral deeds of conserva-

fives. Two other coüecfive acfion frames were

frequently sigrüficant for either insider or out-

sider frames. Injusfice frames were irrelevant

for orthodox poUfics but consistently perfi-

nent to mafters of protests and street poUfics

(ß feü between .288 and .247, p<.01). Liberal

students were more likely to embrace extrain-

sfitufional techniques when they internalized

a liberal injusfice frame on famüy djmamics,

sexual minorifies, and anfipoverty programs.

On the other hand, conservafive students who

expressed stronger objecfions to liberal cri-

fiques were more inclined to protest on the

behalf of conservafive social causes. Ques-

fions of tacfical efficacy were orüy pertinent to

the electoral pracfices of respondents. The

sense that pefifions and protests can produce

societal changes was extremely crucial to the

electoral participation of conservatives

(ß=.43O, pK.OOl), but it also forecast such

acfions among liberals (ß=.182, p<.01). Con-

versely, quesfions of coüecfive potency did

not seem to mafter as to whether respondents

went to a demonstrafion or engaged in civü

disobedience. Finaüy, three demographic fac-

tors occasionaüy registered stafisfical signifi-

cance. Although female respondents often

refrained from au sorts of poUfical acfions, this

factor was crifical only in the protest acfions of

conservafives (ß=.383, p<.05). Being from a

rural background also dampened polifical

parficipafion, but this factor only seemed to

sigrüficantly mafter among the tendency to

protest among Uberals (ß=.184, p<.05). Persons

of color also were less acfive than their White

counterparts, but this difference orüy found

significance for the electoral measures of con-

servafives (ß=.201, p<.05).

In moving to the weakest factors, some

variables were never able to offer unique con-

tribufions to the regressions. The demograph-

ic factors of marital status, family income, and

educafional level were never able to reject the

2 5 8 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

nuU. This suggests that the unequal distribu- fion of resources was not a crucial predictor of which students engaged in acfivism. Two of the mobilizing factors also offered little reper- cussions. Although being raised by liberal mothers slightly increased or decreased the polifical acfions of their liberal and conserva- five offspring, this fanülial sociaUzafion vari- able was of little importance. Befriending peo- ple who valued and praised polifical acfivism also had negligible effects. That is, general lib- eralism among friends did not inspire greater acfivism for conservafives or liberals.

Limitations

As with any study, this research design is not without possible shortcomings. Without data on graduate students, it is impossible to know how these findings translate to MSW or PhD students. The smaller sample size makes it more difficult to reject the null and there might be sampling error as to which sorts of professors distributed the surveys in their classes (the response rate from professors was low). It is also possible that data collected in 2000 would not perfectly fit the pracfices of students who attended college after George W. Bush's "War on Terrorism" or the presiden- fial elecfion of Barack Obama. The cross- secfional design also presents some disadvan- tages. Problems of temporal ordering may be lurking because the percepfioiis of collecfive efficacy, the acceptance of acfivist idenfifies, and the framing of social pracfices can aU be altered by earlier experiences of political acfivism.

Concerns over survey construcfion may also appear because items can fall prey to issues of vague terms, social desirability, and

overdemanding recall. When discussing a lack of clarity, respondents may not always agree on the meaning of terms such as liberal or conservative, or they may not be able to guess the polifical inclinafioris of their friends or mothers. With regard to factual matters, respondents may be unaware of their family finances and forget if they have been asked to join a poUfical event. Some may argue that the closed-ended responses for the political acfions are a little restricfive. The simple "yes" or "no" answers for each item ignores some of the variability in behaviors (e.g., a student may have gone to a hundred protests whereas another could have attended a single demon- strafion). The emphasis on direct polifical acfions also ignores some of the political acfions that social workers do. For example, this study fails to address acfions such as cre- afing social jusfice groups, advocating for change within an agency, testifjóng at pubuc hearings, or fiying to empower disenfran- chised populafions (Dietz Domanski, 1998).

The way variables were defined may influence these findings as well. Injusfice frames may have produced different results if new social problems were added to the scale. Although grievances with welfare policies, tradifional family structures, and heterosex- ism fueled protest acfivifies, it is possible that anger toward other inequifies could be impor- tant as well (e.g., sexual harassment, ageism, racism, environmental degradafion, deindus- triaUzafion, war).

Discussion

By creating a theorefical model, this analysis synthesized the insights of resource, framing, and mobüizafion theories of polifical parfici-

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 5 9

pafion. Although researchers have tested sim-

ilar models among other professional popula-

fions, this is not true among studies of current

and future social workers (for an excepfion,

see Ritter, 2008).

In sum, the mobiUzafion and framing the-

ories supplied the best predictor variables of

acfivist behavior. The mobUizing factor of

acfivist networks provided the strongest asso-

ciation in every regression. In confirming

microstructural theories of acfivism, poUfical

participation increased when students

received an interpersonal request to join a

poUfical cause. This finding held for both

types of acfivism and every polifical stripe of

students. On the other hand, acfivist tenden-

cies seemed indifferent to the presence of Ub-

eral mothers and acfivist friends. Consequent-

ly, poHfical acfivism does not appear to be

simply a matter of passive social modeling.

Neither Uberal nor conservative students were

more likely to be poUfical when they shared or

chaUenged the polifical values of coUege peers

or mothers. Instead, acfivism developed more

frequently when students had access to social

networks that intenfionally tried to foster

acfivism (especiaUy those networks that com-

bined practical logisfical information with

verbal pleas to join that event). In fact, being

involved in these acfivist networks may be a

cornerstone to acfivism because the coeffi-

cients for this variable easily surpassed the

scores in all of the framing variables. This sug-

gests that conversafions with able recruiters

may have been inspirafional enough to mofi-

vate acfivism even if the person did not have

personal values that fully aligned with the

goals of the poUfical campaign. Moreover,

with some framing variables occasionally

meeting significance, one can assume that stu-

dents often fail to act on their polifical senfi-

ments unfil they personaUy meet an informal

recruiter for social causes.

The framing variables received mixed

results. These data suggest that different

forms of acfivism were predicated on specific

types of percepfions. In most cases, embracing

an acfivist idenfity facUitated greater poUfical

parficipafion. Conservafives and Uberals alike

were more likely to join demonstrafions and

engage in civU disobedience when they felt

moraUy obUged to struggle for social jusfice

through polifical means. The intemaUzafion

of such ethics also fostered greater electoral

engagement among Uberals, but not conserva-

fives. This suggests that desire to "do the right

thing" and "Uve up to social jusfice ideals"

was integral to student acfivism.

The influence of injusfice frames was

even more condifional. Liberal slants on tradi-

fional famUy values and social welfare poU-

cies never had a bearing on electoral acfivism.

Conversely, involvement in protests and con-

frontafional poUfics seemed cormected to the

perceived legitimacy of the status quo. In

essence, conservafive students attended more

raUies and did civU disobedience when they

unequivocaUy endorsed the tenor of recent

welfare reforms, compulsory heterosexuaUty,

and tradifional famUy values. Moreover, the

Uberal students who fuUy repudiated such

pracfices were more Ukely to protest than the

Uberal students who were more equivocal on

such matters. The heightened importance of

injusfice frames made some sense because Ub-

eral and conservatives alike resorted to

protests and corvfrontafional acfions only after

they were convinced that the system needed

2 6 0 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

more radical change and that electoral mecha- nisms seemed unresponsive to the demands of radical challengers.

Perceptions of collective efficacy mattered only to electoral endeavors. Students were more resigned to skip electoral politics when they thought the government was unrespon- sive to citizen demands. Conversely, doing outsider politics was not connected to the anticipated power of challengers. This sug- gests that electoral activism was linked to the reflections of the likelihood that a challenging group could produce a tangible payoff (assuming the payoff is creating change in a reluctant opponent). However, use of outsider politics seemed less dependent on expecta- tioris of external success. Instead, social move- ment participation seemed mostly connected to interpretations of societal wrongdoings, an intemaUzation of protest norms, and access to recruitment networks (the payoff of activism was in the intrinsic benefits of being moral or gaining the approval of peers).

This article refutes the major premises of the socioeconomic model of political participa- tion. Family income and the educational vari- ables did not differentiate either the electoral or protest inclinations of conservative or liber- al social work students. This lack of SES effects could be due to the unique characteristics of students in BSW programs. When compared to noncollegiate populations, undergraduate students have truncated income and educa- tional distributions (e.g., the range was small- er because students were not full-time em- ployees, and poor young adults attended col- lege less often than wealthier peers). More- over, income homogeneity may be more pro- nounced in BSW programs because these pro-

grams often attract more poor and working- class students (Caputo, 2004; Goyette & Mul- len, 2006).

Other social statuses were mostly incon- sequential to the activist tendencies of respon- dents. Marital status never was significant. Perhaps this result was valid, yet most stu- dents, due to their ages, had not transitioned into either a marriage or divorce. Although rural students were generally disinclined to be involved in politics, the rural-urban divide was significant only for the protest actions of liberals. Similarly, the gender gap was negligi- ble in most cases and mattered orüy when dis- cussing the protesting activities of conserva- tive students (traditionalist woman were less likely to protest than traditionalist men). It appears that conventional precepts of "women staying out of politics" were irrele- vant for self-defined liberals but more impor- tant when addressing confrontational politics for conservatives. Racial identities were also only predictive in conservative circles. Liberal students of color were not inclined to join insider or outsider political events whereas traditionalist White students engaged in elec- toral activism more frequently than conserva- tive people of color.

Impiications for Social Work Education

With injustice frames being essential to protest activities, it is clear that social work programs should try to reveal the discriminatory and exploitative nature of many U.S. institutior\s (be it systematic sexism, racisn\, classism, het- eronormativity, ageism, etc.). Moreover, there was evidence that students were more politi- cally active after they took a class on hetero-

PREDICTING STUDENT ACTIVISM 2 6 1

sexism (Stake & Hoffman, 2001), homophobia

(Van Soest, 1996), racism (Van Soest, 1996), or

any form of oppression (Astin, 1993, Beau-

mont, Colby, Ehrlich, & Tomey-Purta, 2006;

Van Voorhis & Hostetter, 2006; Rocha, 2000).

Similarly, with activist identities being impor-

tant in most cases, it is clear that professors

must reveal the connections between client

well-being and injustices in families, agencies,

and political arenas. Likewise, educators must

try to convince students that politics is not a

"spectator sport"; that is, social work ethics

requires involvement in political struggles.

Moreover, educators should develop assign-

ments and exercises that offer opportunities in

advocacy practice. Some of these assignments

can be classroom experiences of speaking at a

mock congressional hearing, developing an

imaginary media campaign, or plaruiing a

community meeting (Hoeffer, 1999; Keller,

Whittaker, & Burke, 2001). Equally important,

students should be given an opportunity to

have firsthand experiences in meeting govern-

mental officials, attending political meetings.

knocking on doors, chanting at protests, or

doing some grassroots fundraising (see Fisher,

1995; Haynes & Mickelson, 1997; Hull, 1987).

In fact, some studies argue that political

activism among students increased after col-

leges offered policy practice experiences out-

side of the classroom (Anderson & Harris,

2005; Rocha, 2000; Sather, Weitz, & Carlson,

2007). Finally, imdergraduate social work pro-

grams can modify their curriculum. Programs

can augment their policy classes by providing

more instruction on social action, connecting

students to issue-based advocacy groups, and

offering greater access to political field

practicums (Wölk, Pray, Weismiller, and

Dempsey, 1996, estimated that less then 20% of

BSW programs offer field practice in electoral

politics and policy advocacy). Although these

programs wül not convert every student into a

full-fledged activist, such efforts will probably

lessen the widespread complaint that social

work programs do an inadequate job of

preparing students for policy practice (Ritter,

2008; Wölk et al., 1996).

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Accepted: 0 7 / 1 1

Eric W. Swank is associate professor at Morehead State University.

Address correspondence to Eric W. SwanK Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminology, Morehead State University, iVIorehead, KY 40351; e-mail: [email protected].

Open Rank Tenure-Track Faculty Positions A Three-Year Recruiting Announcennent

The School of Social Work at the University of Southern California has adopted a three-year strategic plan for recruitment of new faculty. Applications are welcome for a starting date anytime up until fall 2014. We encourage senior faculty to submit joint applications with highly accomplished junior mentees. About the USC School of Social Work: The School is a vibrant environment, with six major areas of federally sponsored research, nearly 2000 graduate students in 38 states, and a highly productive, globally oriented faculty. We are distinguished by our commitment to science in social work, diversity, interdisciplinary perspectives, and translational research. Qualiñcations Sought: For all ranks, a PhD in social work, social welfare or a related field is required. The School seeks scholars who publish and communicate in venues with high visibility, have strong potential for external research support, and wish to work in a collégial context. We are especially interested in candidates with expertise in the following areas: social program administration, health policy, child development and children's services, cost-effectiveness research, behavioral health, and homelessness. Because Los Angeles is one of the most diverse metropolitan area in the United States, we seek faculty who have strong scholarship profiles involving Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, and/or African-American populations. Applicants should also have global relationships or be willing to build these networks, preferably in Latin American and Asia. Application Procedure: Please submit a letter of application outlining teaching and research interests, a curriculum vita, two samples of scholarly writing, evidence of teaching excellence, names and contact information of three references and three recommendation letters.

Online applications are required. Please apply at: https://jobs.usc.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=61509.

Please mail your recommendation letters to: Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, Chair, Faculty Search Committee USC School of Social Work, 669 W. 34th Street, MRF 214, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411

Review of applications will be carried out continuously over the next three years until all positions are filled. Salary and benefit packages are highly competitive.

To learn more about our school, please visit our website at: www.usc.edu/socialwork lYic University of Southern California is an afBrmative acllon, equal opportunity employer and does nol discñmiiuUe on the basis of race, color, national original, sexual orientation, gender, age disability, veteran statu.'̂ political orientation or other chamcteristici.

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