Ash Center Seminar Room, Suite 200, HKS, 124 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, MA 02138
The Impact of National Service on Beliefs, Mindsets, and Life Pathways:
Evidence from Teach For All
You’re invited to join Cecilia Mo, Judith E. Gruber Associate Professor at the University of California Berkley, for an American Politics Speaker Series discussion sponsored by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the Center for American Political Studies.
Registration is encouraged but not required. This event series will not be recorded.
This event is open to Harvard ID holders only. Lunch will be served.
Abstract
The health and strength of a democratic polity rests upon the public possessing a sufficient level of trust in government, political efficacy, civic engagement, and tolerance. Given that youth represent the future health of civic life, they have been the objects of many efforts to inculcate the values and practices upon which democratic citizenship depends. However, it is not clear if youth service programs like the U.S. Peace Corps and AmeriCorps are mechanisms by which citizens can become more engaged, efficacious, and knowledgeable. We explore this question by examining Teach For America (TFA), Teach For Australia, Teach For India (TFI), and Enseña por México, which are all prominent national service programs that are part of the Teach For All network. These organizations integrate top college graduates into low-income communities for two years. Utilizing a genetic matching and regression discontinuity approach, we find evidence that participating in national service increases tolerance and shifts attitudes and beliefs in ways that reflect the worldview of disadvantaged communities; shifts policy preferences; increases political participation; and shifts participants’ career trajectories.
About the Series
The American Politics Speaker Series (APSS) aims to bring together scholars who are doing research on these and other important questions. Hosted jointly with the Center for American Political Studies and chaired by Professors Benjamin Schneer and Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, each session will highlight a scholar whose research is at the forefront of the study of American politics.