American Psychological Association definition

The following videos illustrate what civic engagement means in various communities.

• Youtube: Civic Engagement. “At Collin County Community College, we define civic engagement as individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern. Civic Engagement can take many forms, from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem, or interact with the institutions of representative democracy.”
• Youtube: UTB Center for Civic Engagement. Introduction to Service Learning at UT Brownsville.
• Youtube: Kellogg Found – Anne Mosle Civic & Philanthropic Engagement
• The 2006 Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Detailed Look at How Youth Participate in Politics and Communities. Details many components of civic engagement and how young people interact with them. This includes civic activities, electoral activities, political voice activities, disparities in engagement, loss of confidence in government, political knowledge, the importance of following the news for civic engagement, views of politics and elections, and other important findings. Shows where youth of today were in 2002 as compared to 2006 regarding their civic engagement knowledge as well as insight as to how initiatives of today have evolved.
• Civic engagement case studies
• Standards that collectively create civic engagement. This includes collecting (6), using (8), and communicating (10) public knowledge. The final standard focuses on the culture, norms, reflexes, and habits of civic engagement.