A New Civic Engagement Among Young People?

2015 ◽  
pp. 151-170
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement

Developing the Leadership Potential of African Youth Through Online Communities

2022 ◽  
pp. 408-424
Author(s):  
Lanoi Maloiy ◽  
Jocelyn Cranefield
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Youth Civic Engagement ◽  
Leadership Potential ◽  
Facilitating Factors ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
African Youth ◽  
Two Barriers

This chapter draws on the results of an explorative, qualitative study that investigated how online communities can facilitate civic engagement amongst Millennials. Based on the study's findings, the chapter explores how the use of online communities can assist and empower youth, particularly African young people, to overcome barriers, empower and foster civic engagement. This chapter begins with a review of key literature, and then a summary of the study methodology, followed by a discussion of the study findings and their potential for African youth. Results of the study indicated that five facilitating factors and two barriers were influential towards youth civic engagement in an online context. Adult perceptions of youth and the low credibility of online communities were found to act as significant barriers to online youth participation. Given these key findings from the study, the authors show how to employ online communities to engage African youth civic participation and decision making.

LibraryCraft – how the COVID-19 pandemic led to the growth of the WA libraries public Minecraft server

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-388
Author(s):  
Jayne Cleave ◽  
John Geijsman
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Content Type

Purpose LibraryCraft was created to bring communities together across Western Australia (WA) in a safe, structured and moderated way so that players could stretch their creativity and imagination. LibraryCraft uses the features of Minecraft that stretch users’ innovation and creative thinking, develops their STEAM skills and builds social and life skills such as collaboration, negotiation, economic management and civic engagement. Design/methodology/approach In late 2019, the Fremantle Library launched a small, local Minecraft server for the local community of young people. After several months of testing and upgrades, LibraryCraft was made available to all players aged 7–17 across WA, and WA local governments were invited to participate. Findings The COVID-19 pandemic led to a cancellation of Fremantle Library in-person programmes; LibraryCraft, as a purely online programme, was scaled up, and in a few weeks, had more than tripled its player base. At the time of writing, LibraryCraft brings together 20 WA local councils, reaches over 100 players from Derby-West Kimberley to Albany and sees hundreds of play hours logged each week. Players have created new friendships across the state and are regularly working collaboratively on challenges and exploration. Originality/value While Minecraft servers operated by libraries are far from new, LibraryCraft is unique. No groups of libraries have run Minecraft servers collaboratively in Australia before, and none is available state wide. The programme is highly valued with families in WA, providing a safe social outlet for players stuck at home in isolation.

scholarly journals Social values and civic behaviour among youth in Ireland: The influence of social contexts

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-64
Author(s):  
Charlotte Silke ◽  
Bernadine Brady ◽  
Pat Dolan ◽  
Ciara Boylan
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Western World ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Youth Civic Engagement ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
Civic Values ◽  
The Social

As youth civic engagement is widely considered important for social cohesion and democracy, concerns have been expressed regarding a perceived decline in civic and political engagement among young people throughout the western world. While research has shown that the social environment is influential in terms of the development of civic values, knowledge and behaviours among youth, limited research has been conducted on these issues in an Irish context. Drawing on survey research conducted with 167 young people aged 12–15 years in Irish secondary schools, this paper examines young people's civic attitudes and behaviours and how they are linked to their social contexts. Findings indicate that youth report high levels of social responsibility values but low engagement in both online and offline civic engagement. Furthermore, while parent, peer, school and/or community contexts were found to have a significant influence on youths' social responsibility values and offline civic behaviours, youth's online civic behaviours were not connected to these social environments. This study provides insights into the socialisation of civic values and behaviours among young people in Ireland and highlights the importance of investigating the link between the social context and different forms of youth civic involvement.

CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN LIEPAJA CITY

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 191-201
Author(s):  
Pāvels Jurs ◽  
Alīda Samuseviča
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Youth Civic Engagement ◽  
Civic Consciousness

Youth civic engagement is an essential precondition for the preservation of democratic values and the existence of civil society. The implementation of the competence approach in the education process in Latvia provides as one of the key priorities of pedagogical work – encourage students' civic engagement and personal responsibility,  developing students' thinking and self-initiative, the skills to be accountable to the citizens of society with the development national, historical and civic consciousness and understanding of social processes, as well as to promote their social activity and persistent habits in dealing with their peers to share solving multi-level problems related to the future of the local community and sustainable development. The aim of the research is: on the bases of theoretical research of civic problems and the analysis of the results of the carried out survey (quantitative data processing), to identify expressions of civic engagement of young people (from 9 to 12 grade students) in Liepaja (Latvia) focusing on  different categories: (I) self-esteem of civic participation; (II) the willingness of young people to take responsibility; (III) self-realization of youth civic participation (IV) level of awareness among young people; (V) interaction of families and students in the context of the formation of a responsible position. The survey results reflect: relatively high self-esteem of civic engagement of students; low political engagement and political system scores; the untapped potential of young people in the context of civic engagement at school and city level. 

scholarly journals Citizenship as given or taken? Meanings and practices among majority and minority youth

Human Affairs ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzana Petrovičová ◽  
Jan Šerek ◽  
Michaela Porubanová ◽  
Petr Macek
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Way

AbstractPresent study sheds more light on the conceptualization of citizenship and civic engagement among majority and minority youth. In order to understand the meanings of citizenship, fourteen focus groups were conducted with young people aged 16–26, with both civically engaged and disengaged young ethnic Czechs, Roma, and Ukrainians. Results suggest that young people understand the citizenship as having multiple dimensions (legal and personal, and in terms of rights and responsibilities) and civic engagement as being focused on various aspects. The way people described their position within society was influenced by the social background and mirrored in the views on full citizenship.

scholarly journals Recognizing Young People’s Civic Engagement Practices: Rethinking Literacy Ontologies through Co-Production

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-39
Author(s):  
Kate Heron Pahl
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Literacy Studies ◽  
New Literacy ◽  
New Literacy Studies ◽  
Modes Of Engagement ◽  
Informal Settings

In this article I argue that it is important to find a language to describe youth engagement practices in informal settings. I argue that many young people do not have the resources to be heard on visible platforms, but their work, and meaning making practices might provide important information about their ideas and relay key concepts about how communicational practices are constructed. Drawing on embedded, ethnographic and artistically informed projects with young people in communities, I argue for a deeper kind of listening. Artistic forms such as poetry, visual art, dance and music are important modes of engagement. I draw on cultural practice theory together with theory from new literacy studies and media studies to explore four questions: How do you craft what you know? How do you speak/make what you feel? How do you transform practice? How do you articulate action? I see these as components of the process of producing relationally oriented modes of address that others can also engage with. Taken together, they suggest a language of description for the mode that is civic engagement communicational practice, that is, oriented beyond individual experience but drawing from experience to make change happen in relational ways.

The Challenge of Social Corrosion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony F. Heath ◽  
Elisabeth Garratt ◽  
Ridhi Kashyap ◽  
Yaojun Li ◽  
Lindsay Richards
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Social Division ◽  
British Identity ◽  
National Pride ◽  
The 1950S

Has increasing inequality and ethnic diversity served to corrode social cohesion in Britain? The evidence discussed in this chapter suggests that in many respects, such as levels of national pride, social trust, and civic engagement, Britain has not in fact changed all that much since the 1950s and 1960s. Nor is Britain all that out of line with peer countries. However, there are long-standing problems of social division, low trust, and disconnection from politics, albeit sometimes taking new forms. In some respects, then, Britain is not all that cohesive. Moreover, there are some new emerging challenges such as declining election turnout, especially among young people, and declining sense of British identity in Ireland and Scotland. However, these emerging challenges cannot be blamed on inequality and diversity. Instead, the explanations, and the solutions, are more likely to be specific and political.

Rethinking Youth Political Socialization

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 1499-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hava R. Gordon ◽  
Jessica K. Taft
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Socialization ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Qualitative Studies ◽  
Youth Civic Engagement ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities

This article draws from the experiences and narratives of teenage activists throughout the Americas in order to add a needed dimension, that of peer political socialization, to the larger political and civic socialization literature. The authors argue that although the existing literature emphasizes the roles and responsibilities of adults in shaping young people’s civic capacities, the roles that young people play in socializing each other for political engagement is underexplored. Based on two qualitative studies of teenage activists throughout North and Latin America, the authors argue that teenage activists, who are largely left out of this literature, represent a different process by which youth engage in politics. We use teenagers’ narratives about their own youth-led political socialization to extend the existing theorizing on youth civic engagement, rethink some of its core tenets, and elucidate the roles that young people themselves play in the processes of political socialization.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document