Jason Giersch

Voting on a constitution: Implications for democracy in Kenya

Abstract In November 2005, Kenya held its first-ever national referendum on a proposed constitution. After a contentious review process, 58% of voters rejected the final document. It is common in the analysis of Kenyan politics to rely on ethnic explanations; indeed, the referendum results cannot be understood without exploring ethnic cleavages in Kenyan society. However, an exclusive focus on ethnicity obscures other factors that influenced voters, including the controversial process of drafting the constitution, the mobilisation efforts of the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns, and the perceived performance of the government. In the end, the referendum was seen as a positive step toward democratic consolidation in Kenya and raised hopes for the future. For the second time in three years, voters rejected the preference of the sitting government, which respected the results. Hopes were dashed, though, when irregularities marred the 2007 election and the announcement of contested results sparked a wave of violence. Under intense domestic and international pressure, the opposing sides reached a power-sharing agreement, as the need for a new constitutional order in Kenya became even more apparent.

Political Competition and Attitudes towards Immigration in Africa

This paper examines the political conditions under which individuals are more likely to oppose immigration. We focus on immigration attitudes in Africa, which has been overlooked in existing literature and where there is wide variation on political factors. Drawing on existing case study literature that links exclusionary politics in that region to on-going processes of political liberalisation, we hypothesise that political competition heightens opposition to immigration by raising the salience of the issue and legitimising hostile attitudes. Using multilevel mixed-effect ordered logistic regression analysis with survey data from African countries, we find that opposition to immigration is significantly higher among individuals in countries that are more democratic, that have dominant party systems, and when the survey is conducted shortly before or after a national election. Our analysis also shows that opposition to immigration is more likely in African countries with higher levels of ethnic diversity and higher levels of economic development. In addition to raising important questions for future cross-regional research, our findings from Africa suggest a need to re-think broader comparative theories about immigration attitudes and to give greater attention to the role of political competition in shaping public opinion.

Aiming for Giants Charter School Legislation and the Power of Teacher Unions

Historically, strong teacher unions have been successful at gaining benefits and security for their members, but they have been put on the defensive by recent proposals for education reform. Charter schools are one such reform that could threaten unions, but there is wide variety in the content of state charter school laws. Using state-level data from 3 different years, I find that the stronger a state’s teacher union, the more antiunion provisions a state’s charter school law will contain. These results suggest that antiunion sentiment has reached a level high enough to overcome the unions’ ability to influence policy on this issue.

Vouchers for Religious Schools and the Development of Democratic Values

Abstract Federal courts have permitted tax credits for tuition at religious schools. Does a religious mission inhibit a schools ability or willingness to teach civic values, such as tolerance for political and religious differences? This essay examines relevant empirical research to find that religious schools, overall, do no worse than public schools at teaching civic values. Research also points to some specific steps educators can take to promote the development of civic values.

Academic Tracking, High-Stakes Tests, and Preparing Students for College: How Inequality Persists Within Schools:

Academic tracking is a common feature of school organization, but it produces inequalities in student outcomes. High-stakes testing policies offer new opportunities for assessing students’ progress, but the instruments raise concerns about relying on such narrow measures of learning. This study utilizes a longitudinal data set that follows one cohort of North Carolina school students from public high school through the state university system to examine the difference in outcomes associated with academic track. Results show that upper track students do better in college even when controlling for achievement on high-stakes tests and that such tests are a stronger predictor of college success for upper track students than they are for lower track students. Interviews suggest that these differences can be attributed to different methods of instruction in each track.

Required civics courses, civics exams, and voter turnout

Abstract Despite attempts at using civic education to increase the civic engagement of young people, education policy is slow to adopt the recommendations of research and great variation exists within the United States in how schools deliver civics instruction. We hypothesize that when states make civics requirements more uniform and demanding, statewide civic participation among young people increases. Using state-level data about civic education requirements and voter registration and turnout from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), we find no evidence that a mandated civics course increases registration or turnout, but we do find a positive relationship between having a state-mandated civics exam and both registration and turnout among young people. We conclude that accountability policies could make a difference in the delivery of civic education at the state level.

Effects of vacation properties on local education budgets

Abstract Residents of school districts with large percentages of vacation properties have the opportunity to export a portion of their school taxes onto the owners of those vacation properties. Those property owners are unlikely to consume educational services or have the opportunity to vote against local school taxes. Previous studies address exportation of taxes onto vacation property owners and the effects on local government budgets generally but not on education finances specifically. This study connects research on rates of vacation properties with that on local education finances by using data from the state of Georgia in 2010 and weighted least squares regression analysis to show that high percentages of vacation properties do indeed result in larger local school expenditures.

Lessons in Ethics in American High Schools: Getting Out the Wrong Message

High schools and their discipline codes create climates that communicate messages about ethics to students. This article examines the subtle ethical lessons informally taught by educational institutions. It is argued that if high school students exhibit weak ethical decision-making at school, it may be because schools send ethically ambiguous messages. Institutional changes may improve learning environments so that students are treated in a more ethical manner and have opportunities to develop ethical decision-making skills.