Define: This is a theory of political participation that says that as people age, they "adjust the level and nature of their political activity on the basis not only of personal but also of contextual-situational factors (e.g. social pressure, health condition, leisure time, etc.)"
Lamprianou, I. (2013). Contemporary political participation research: A critical assessment. Democracy in Transition. Retrieved from
https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=f7uOCicAAAAJ&citation_for_view=f7uOCicAAAAJ:hFOr9nPyWt4C.
Apply: Let's say you are working in a community where voter turnout of people over age 60 is very low, and you want to inspire and enable this age demographic to get out and vote. (Note this theory doesn't necessarily say older folks have less participation, it just says that the levels adjust.) But in this case, if you are trying to get people over age 60 to vote, it would be wise to look at the contextual-situational factors that may be preventing them from getting out and voting, so you can adjust those factors and make it easier for them to vote. For example, if lack of ability to drive is preventing them from leaving the house, you could arrange transportation to get them to their polling place.
Adapt: In the field of education, keeping note that students' levels of political participation are changing as they age (hopefully getting higher) you may encourage an upward adjustment by informing students of important pieces of legislation for them to consider, educating about the right to vote, and informing about ways they can engage in politics (letter writing, rallies, etc.)
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