The Prediction of Political Competencies by Political Action and Political Media Consumption

Political competencies are often considered a precondition for political action; however, they are not independent of previous political participation. Moreover, the frequency and the kind of political media consumption – e.g., tabloids, broadsheet newspapers, television, Internet – are further conditions to be taken into account, in particular when predicting political knowledge. My research aims at finding out the importance of engagement in political activities in the past, as well as taking over civic responsibility in positions at school or university for political competencies among students with and without a migration background in Germany. The focus is on two kinds of political knowledge: structural political knowledge, i.e. particularly knowledge of polity, and symbolic political knowledge, i.e. knowledge about political figures and actors etc., but political reasoning will also incidentally be considered. The main hypothesis reads that the media primarily influences symbolic political knowledge, while structural political knowledge is mainly achieved by active political participation. The ability of political reasoning is, however, assumed to be equally influenced by both, media consumption and political participation, although third variables may be more important. However, differences between various political activities and media outlets will also be considered. By using a small, homogeneous sample of university students, these hypotheses are examined by taking into consideration control variables such as socio-demographic variables, political interest etc. in statistical analyses. The findings of this study shall serve as a basis for a comparative study using Australian university students with and without a migration background. Furthermore, the results are discussed considering the aim and importance of contemporary political education and the provision of political media in modern societies as well as theories that differentiate between habitual and reflective actions as two differing behavioral systems.