Suchergebnisse

Empirical studies clearly show that not only are members of associations more politically active than non-members, but they also take a greater interest in politics and participate more often in political debate. Based on analyses of the correlation between association membership and participation in political discussions, the following article shows that these empirical findings are attributable only in limited measure to the political socialization effects of voluntary organizations. The results of multivariate analyses suggest that it is not so much association membership as early political socialization and education that lead to greater participation in political discussions. Associations do have a politicizing effect, however, chiefly when they afford an opportunity for their members to learn or cultivate organizational and communication skills or the ability to deal with conflict.

Empirical studies clearly show that not only are members of associations more politically active than non-members, but they also take a greater interest in politics and participate more often in political debate. Based on analyses of the correlation between association membership and participation in political discussions, the following article shows that these empirical findings are attributable only in limited measure to the political socialization effects of voluntary organizations. The results of multivariate analyses suggest that it is not so much association membership as early political socialization and education that lead to greater participation in political discussions. Associations do have a politicizing effect, however, chiefly when they afford an opportunity for their members to learn or cultivate organizational and communication skills or the ability to deal with conflict. Adapted from the source document.

In this article the relationship between associational membership & the participation in political discussions is analyzed. It is shown that members of voluntary associations are politically more engaged than persons without organizational affiliations. The results of the multivariate analyses however indicate that politicizing effects of voluntary associations are limited as the strength of correlations between associational affiliation & the participation in political discussions substantially decreases if controls for education & political socialization during adolescence are introduced. Associations do nonetheless contribute to the political engagement of its members as they offer opportunities to develop & practice civic skills. They can further stimulate the participation in political discussions by encouraging members to carry out tasks & not avoiding conflicts. Tables, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.

Switzerland has participated in the IALS project (International Adult Literacy Survey) in 1994 (German and French-speaking Switzerland) and 1998 (Italian-speaking Switzerland). This study of adults' ability to cope with everyday cognitive tasks has contributed greatly to the fact that the phenomenon of illiteracy began to gain wider attention, i.e. that many people have only partially acquired or then lost the basic skills that compulsory schooling is supposed to provide.
The ALL project is a follow-up to IALS, again under the authority of the OECD. The declared aim was to determine the human capital available in the participating countries by measuring certain basic skills in a sample of adults. A pilot study carried out in 2001 under the name ILSS (International Life Skills Survey) has made it possible to test the procedures and eliminate some less suitable parts of the tests.
In Switzerland, the ALL survey covered around 5,500 persons, of whom around 2,000 were in German-speaking Switzerland and another 2,000 in western Switzerland, as well as 1,500 in the Italian-speaking part of the country. The data were collected in individual interviews with the participating persons at home. The interviews included tests on literacy and numeracy and, in German and French-speaking Switzerland, problem-solving skills. In addition, data on socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, their positioning in the social environment or on topics such as attitudes and behaviour regarding further training or the use of modern information and communication technologies were also collected.
The cantons of Zurich and Geneva provided larger samples than the other cantons (around 800 each), as they had decided to tackle certain issues in greater depth. This is also the reason why German-speaking Switzerland and Suisse romande have a larger number of participants than Italian-speaking Switzerland. The data collection in the field was carried out in 2003. The international comparative report was compiled by Statistics Canada and the US National Center for Education Statistics and was published in 2005; the Swiss national report has been available since autumn 2006.

The aim of the project is to clarify the relationship between social and political forms of civic involvement. Participation in clubs, associations, self-help groups, citizens' initiatives and organisations of all kinds is understood as a mechanism of social integration that is linked to other integration bodies - the family, work, the neighbourhood and the circles of friends - in mutual dependence. Political participation is considered the centerpiece of democratic integration. Traditional forms of political integration are in crisis. Decreasing participation in elections and votes as well as organisational problems of parties and other conventional interest groups (especially trade unions) can be observed in various countries, including Switzerland. Systematic-empirical comparative studies have shown, however, that despite these erosion phenomena liberal democracy is not fundamentally threatened in its existence. Alternative forms of political and social integration have gained in importance in the political process. New types of organisations such as informal networks, self-help groups, citizens' initiatives and unconventional forms of political participation have increased to such an extent that there is talk of a "participation boom" and a new "civil society solidarity". These two opposing trends, and in particular the uncertainty as to how they are to be interpreted, have led to a variety of social science debates: Communitarianism, for example, sees the family, the neighbourhood and non-governmental organizations as antipodes to the self-destructive forces released by liberalism and individualized claim thinking.
With the radical changes in Eastern and Central Europe, the concept of civic society has once again gained in importance. This provides for a strong network of intermediary organisations, which mediates between the macro-level of the state and the economic structures and the micro-level of the individual, as a necessity for the establishment and consolidation of democratic systems. A third debate concerns the concept of social capital. This raises the question to what extent social trust and the ability and willingness to work in voluntary organisations determine the efficiency and effectiveness of democracies and economic growth. Despite the many debates, the connection between social and political forms of participation is still unclear: On the one hand, participation in the social sphere serves integration, the articulation and mediation of interests and is partly understood as a "school of democracy" - especially with regard to learning democratic decision-making on a small scale. On the other hand, social (or non-state) forms of organization can have anti-democratic effects - e.g. the "dark side" of social capital such as rigid social control, intolerance towards outsiders or corruption. Furthermore, social participation as an institutional reality can serve as a basis for recruiting and mobilising political participation, but it also takes up resources of time and energy, which can lead to the depoliticisation of committed individuals. Political commitment therefore also competes with other leisure activities - especially with regard to "voluntary" activities; politics as such loses relative importance for the individual engaged in the social sphere. With the help of a general population survey and an in-depth organisational study at local level, the political function of social participation is to be examined. This project forms the Swiss part of an international comparative study of the ESF network "Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy".