Influencing youth citizenship

To develop, sustain or improve democratic qualities of a society, democratic institutions and civic practices can only fulfill their potential when individuals and communities hold democratic convictions, have democratic competences and are motivated to use them. Yet, human beings are not born as engaged and democratic citizens. Equipping young citizens with the means necessary to participate in, reflect on and shape democratic societies requires conscious effort. Citizenship education is one of the foremost ways of organizing these efforts.
A coherent and elaborated perspective on what it means to be a good citizen and identification of factors that may effectively contribute to youth citizenship development are essential in realizing the potential of citizenship education. This dissertation aims to advance understanding of these prerequisites, by complementing existing knowledge on citizenship education programs with research on generic educational factors that influence citizenship development.
While a great number of empirical studies have been performed on dedicated citizenship programs and citizenship-specific curricula, research on generic factors in education that may contribute to citizenship development is still scarce. Generic factors are factors that are not necessarily a component of a citizenship program or curriculum, but instead are an inextricable part of education. Importantly, generic factors can serve multiple educational goals. Therefore, the central question of this study is:
Which generic factors in education may contribute to students’ citizenship development?