CIRCLE in Action

We're focused on the connections between research and practice: on making sure that our work helps to clarify practical questions for educators, communities, and policymakers and has an impact on more equitable youth opportunity and engagement. We strive to ensure that our research is timely and relevant to a broad range of audiences, and we work with local and national partners on numerous campaigns and initiatives to strengthen various aspects of youth civic education and engagement. We believe collaboration is necessary for substantive change to occur and that research informed by the experiences and knowledge of youth and practitioners is most practical.

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Updates and Announcements

Youth Expertise: the 26th Amendment

On the 50th anniversary or the voting age being lowered to 18, young people are sharing their insights and experiences about how to ensure the newest eligible voters are prepared to cast their ballot.

Endowment and Advisory Board

CIRCLE's leadership is stronger than ever. With a $1.5 million gift, the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation has endowed the directorship of CIRCLE, and we have launched an advisory board of diverse leaders whose insights and expertise will inform our work.

Learn More

CIRCLE Welcomes New Tisch College Dean

We're excited to begin working with Dayna Cunningham, who has begun her term as Dean of CIRCLE's home: the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. We look forward to learning with and from this experienced civic leader!

Latest Research

What are we working on? Check out the most recent CIRCLE data and analysis on youth participation in civic life.

Rural Voices Critical to Equitable Youth Voting and Engagement

These excerpts are part of CIRCLE's 2021 Youth Expertise Series, in which young people share ideas for how to fulfill the promise of the 26th Amendment.

youth expertise

rural communities

Early Estimate: 25% of Youth Voted in the 2021 Virginia Election

Youth voter turnout was lower than in 2017 and highlights the need for continued efforts to reach and engage all young people.

Virginia

voter turnout

vote choice

CIRCLE and Snap Partner to Explore Opportunities and Barriers to Youth Running for Office

Our work will help us understand how to make pathways to elected office and civic engagement more equitable and accessible.

social media

running for office

Explore More Research

In the Media

There should be a vibrant, data-informed public conversation about youth civic education and engagement: what's working, what's not, and why it's important. Our research, which appears frequently in major media outlets, helps to drive that conversation.

Republican Voter Suppression Efforts Could Alienate Young Republican Voters

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/republican-voter-suppression-young-people

“As some of these state laws may get more nuanced or may get more confusing language added to them, that makes it harder on ... young people to understand what they can do and how they can access having a voice on issues they care about and that affect them,” CIRCLE Deputy Director Abby Kiesa explains.

Young progressives warn that Democrats could have a youth voter problem in 2022

CNN

Half of young people ages 18 to 29 voted in 2020, according to research from Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts (CIRCLE).

Millennial. Mom. Mayor. Another way Michelle Wu reflects a changing Boston

The Boston Globe

“It’s become more normal or normative to have a political voice,” said CIRCLE Director Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg. “It’s an advantage for a candidate like Michelle Wu who really did build community and had a very young campaign team that wasn’t made of seasoned 50-year-olds.”

More CIRCLE Research in the News