Posted on October 16, 2009

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Recession May Be Exacerbating Florida's Civic Weakness, Report Finds

Florida's civic culture is in failing health, and the recession has only made the problem worse, a new study by the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship finds.

Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the survey found that the state ranks forty-sixth in the nation in civic culture, forty-ninth in volunteering, forty-eighth in the percentage of citizens who have attended a public meeting, and thirty-seventh in the percentage of citizens who have worked with others to address a community issue. The survey also looked at the impact of the recession and the state's battered housing market on civic engagement and found that 70 percent of respondents have cut back on their civic activities in the past year.

While Miami-Fort Lauderdale ranked last among the country's fifty largest metropolitan areas in three key civic indicators — volunteering, public meeting attendance, and collaboration with others on local issues — other communities, notably Palm Beach-Melbourne and Tampa-St. Petersburg, were found to have developed stronger civic cultures. Indeed, many who were already engaged in their communities are doing even more, with 46 percent of those who self-identified as highly engaged in the past year reporting that they are increasing their involvement.

To help address the situation, Florida representative Charles McBurney (R.-Jacksonville) has introduced legislation, known as the Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Education Act, that would add social studies, including civics, to the list of subjects included in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In addition, the Joint Center for Citizenship, in partnership with Leon County Schools and the Florida Law Related Education Association has launched a newly developed civics curriculum in Tallahassee schools.

"Florida's leaders need to focus on such basics as civic education, teaching Florida history, and encouraging Floridians to volunteer in their communities," said Michael Weiser, chairman of the National Conference on Citizenship, which helped develop the study as part of a national effort to measure the country's civic health. "These initiatives cost little but can yield highly leveraged results in terms of the future health of Florida's citizenship."

“Recession May Be Adding to Florida's Weakness.” John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Release 10/14/09.

Primary Subject: Civil Society
Secondary Subject(s): Education, Community Improvement/Development
Location(s): Florida

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