We asked about “funding and promoting overseas service as a way of improving our relations with other countries.” This idea prompted decidedly mixed opinions, with 52% in favor (28% strongly) and 42% against (26% strongly). Republicans were less likely than Democrats to back the proposal. Women liked the idea less than men, and 34% of Baby-Boomer women opposed it strongly. This was an interesting contrast to their very strong support for service-learning, which almost always occurs locally instead of overseas. Millennials were about 12 points more likely than other generations to favor the idea, perhaps reflecting their upbringing in a globalized society that has broken down many traditional borders.



Overall, we find strong support for four proposals: college tuition for service; a national deliberation; mandatory service-learning; and new tests for civic education. Three of these ideas relate to civic education, broadly defined. We deliberately set a high bar by mentioning mandates and tests; other ways of enhancing civic education and youth service would probably be even more popular. The other ideas that we tested drew substantial support but would also provoke some controversy.