A study examined the impact of civic education programs on political participation and democratic attitudes among adults and high school students in South Africa. The study represents an extension of a similar assessment of civic education programs in the Dominican Republic and Poland. Questionnaires were administered by a professional survey company to samples of individuals who had been trained in different civic education programs. The questionnaires were designed to measure individuals' participation in politics, their knowledge about the political system, and their adherence to a series of democratic norms and values such as tolerance, trust, and belief in their ability to influence the political process. Respondents (n=15,550) were from 44 areas in 8 of South Africa's nine provinces. Overall findings showed unequivocally that civic education can matter for the development of democratic political culture, but it can do so only when it is conducted in the ways that are identified in this study. It is strongly recommended that policymakers take these findings into account when designing future civic education programs. Following an Executive Summary, this study report is divided into seven parts: (1) "Overview of Study"; (2) "Study Methodology"; (3) "Results: South African Adults"; (4) "Results: South African Students"; (5) "Qualitative Findings"; (6) "Recommendations for Civic Education Program Design"; and (7) "Conclusion." Appended are the survey questionnaire; the full regression results for adults; and the full regression results for students. (Contains 26 references.) (BT)