Consistently, young adults (ages 18-24), hereafter referred to as "youth" are slow to get involved in the governance process. Rates of engagement in the political and governance process are consistently lower among those with intersections of marginality (e.g. race, gender, level of education, etc.). Two components which impact a young person's activism and connection to civic and political engagement are political education and socialization. How a person is introduced to the political process and how their interactions with their community had helped to instill, or failed to instill, notions of democratic citizenry. The way a person is taught to engage with the political process has significant implications for an engaged citizenry, and there are educational and social systems which work to promote or discourage such democratic involvement, among marginalized groups. This research provides statistical comparisons which allow for quantitative analysis of participation rates among diverse youth, and addtionally provides a qualitative examination of constructions of citizenship, socialization and education, which might discourage participation in traditional democracy for youth and other marginalized groups. Variations in how educational institutions teach about youth political engagement impact how involved they become in their own governance. Pedagogy and constructions of citizenship play a major role in not only whether youth engage, but how they engage in the political process. While shifts in socialization may not be achievable through public policy solutions, implications of this research could offer alternatives and solutions to the problem of youth political participation, to both existing educational institutions and policymakers, when considering youth engagement in the governance process.