Political Learning Revisited: How Nonprofit Service Provision Shapes Political Participation Among the Poor.

Abstract

In recent years political scientists have suggested that public policies shape mass political behavior by offering resources and incentives for political action and by acting as sources of information and meaning about citizenship (Pierson, 1993; Mettler and Soss, 2004; Schneider and Ingram, p. 442, 1995). Policy feedback research shows higher levels of political participation among beneficiaries of universal public programs when compared to recipients of means-tested public programs (Mettler and Stonecash, 2008; Soss, 1999; 2001). Scholars attribute these differences to distinct program designs, which confer different resources and incentives for participation and convey distinct messages about citizenship and political participation (Mettler, 2002; Campbell, 2002; Soss, 1999).

This study explores the insights of this literature in the context of nonprofit social service provision, an integral component of post-welfare reform policy administration (Allard, 2009, Winston, 2002; Allard, 2009; Smith and Lipsky, 1993, Salamon, 1996; Marwell, 2004). In particular, I focus on subsidized childcare services through an in-depth case study of two subsidized nonprofit afterschool programs. I integrate existing resource and recruitment models of political participation and the policy feedback framework to explore how these programs influence the political behavior of clients. Furthermore, I broaden the contextual range of the prevailing of concept of program design and work to identify how elements of program design inform feedback processes.

Through participant observations, 30 client interviews, and 14 staff interviews, I find that these types of providers offer alternative pathways to political participation. With regards to equipping low income individuals with resources for political participation, I find that one organization serves as venues for skill building and political engagement. Interpretively, these community based providers convey “place-based” cues about effective responses to neighborhood conditions that inform client political efficacy beliefs and political action. An interplay of staff and client discretion determined how these providers shaped client political behavior. Parents choose their level program involvement which results in varied program experiences and exposure to aspects of program design. Parents who are most involved receive material assistance, gain access to decision-making roles and skill building opportunities, and garner entree to opportunities for political action.