Piven and Cloward (2000) have noted that education is an investment in human skills, one with both its costs and its returns. For example, the cost of finishing high school to the student is, according to the authors, very low because it consists mainly of the relatively low wages earned by a 16 to 19 year old. On the other hand, the cost to the student of attending college is higher and includes tuition, books, fees, and the earnings given up by not working and/or by working only part time.
However, the returns of a higher education can be strong and varied. One of these returns, Piven and Cloward (2000) state, is a greater interest and participation in civic affairs such as voting. In other words, the more educated tend to vote in higher frequencies than the less educated.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on education and voting behavior and to then analyze and discuss the findings of a survey conducted to examine for an association between educational level and presidential selection in the 2000 election. The paper ends with a summary and discussion of findings observed for the conducted analysis.
What is the relationship between educating and voting behavior? The National Center For Education Statistics (NCES, 1996) has noted that:
Education plays a vital role in preparing individuals to actively participate in the political, economic, and social lives of their communities. Voting rates for groups with differing amounts of education are one indication of the relationship between educational attainment and exercising civic responsibility, such as voting. (NCES, 1996, p.1)
The NCES (1996) provides some basic statistics on the relationship between education and voting behavior, noting that there is a strong positive relationship between voting behavior and educational attainment with voting participation increasing with the voter's amount of education. For example, in the 1994 congressional elec...