November 11, 2026
Allison Archer (University of Houston)
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S., but their political engagement lags that of other groups. The lack of AAPI representation in educational and media accounts of American political history represents one potential reason for these disparities. We argue that civics materials including the experiences of AAPIs are empowering and increase political engagement by countering stereotypes placing this community on the sidelines of politics. We test this using three survey experiments across AAPI adult and college student samples. We find inclusive AAPI civics content of various forms increases political engagement and support for inclusive curricula among Asian American adults but not AAPI college students. While generic civics materials also increase participation among AAPI adults, inclusive content is more broadly mobilizing and affects education policy views. Our research offers insight on the impact of inclusive civics, a major topic of political debate.