School opportunities for the development of European citizenship: The perspective of students

School civic education has been identified as pivotal in fostering young people’s civic and political sense (Kahne & Sporte, 2008; Torney-Purta, 2002). Experiences in school can provide opportunities for participation and reflection in a supportive and challenging environment, which has been shown to lead to positive development of political attitudes (Ferreira et al., 2012). However, there is the need to explore further the characteristics of experiences in school that are relevant for the development of young people’s political attitudes related to the European context and on their perceptions of themselves as capable European citizens. Although schools are a crucial context of civic capacity-building and involvement, there are evidences that adequate civic education is hindered by inequalities in the opportunities for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds (Kahne & Middaugh, 2008). Special attention should be given to the different school tracks offered in educational systems, which in Italy seem to maintain a vertical hierarchy of prestige and quality (Triventi, 2014). The choice of these tracks in secondary education can be rooted in social background and ultimately reproduces social inequality (Contini & Scagni, 2011; Romito, 2014). It is thus important to understand what structural barriers and uneven opportunities to experience European citizenship are found in educational institutions and how young people might experience them as exposing a discrepancy between ideal and real-world democracy (Watts & Flanagan, 2007). In order to investigate young people’s understanding of their sociopolitical development as European citizens and of the educational opportunities they feel are crucial in this process in function of the type of school that is attended, we conducted a qualitative exploratory study with upper secondary school students from different tracks. The study involved 10 focus group discussions with a total of 101 students in 5 secondary schools in Emilia Romagna and Lazio regions. The data was collected within the European-funded H2020 research project CATCH-EyoU. The schools were chosen to represent different tracks, in order to consider diverse educational contexts in terms of resources and quality. Students were asked to talk about their ideas and experiences of civic and political participation, their interest and views on EU matters, the role played by the school in promoting these experiences. The data was analyzed through thematic content analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The results present students’ ambivalent attitudes toward the EU political context, their understanding of the possibilities and limitations to enact European citizenship and the aspects they identify within their educational institutions that foster opportunities for sociopolitical development. Differences and specificities of perspective among students from different school tracks are discussed. The findings highlight the multiple responsibility of schools not only to impart civic knowledge about EU, but to also provide a general environment that is open for dialogue between different views and that invites critical reflection and participation by students. The results have implications for the development of citizenship education programs

Motivations for Joining and Engaging in Youth Organisations in the Italian Context.

Understanding the multiple motivations for joining youth organisations can help civic and political organisers to to give voice and provide opportunities for action on social issues relevant for youth as emphasised from a critical perspective on active citizenship (Johnson & Morris,2010). Previous quantitative studies on prosocial participation (Vecina et al.,2013, Marta et al., 2006) and on civic and political participation have studied motivations to join and remain in civic organisations as linked to the dispositional and organisational variables that support youth identification with the organisation. Self- and other-oriented motivations (Omoto & Snyder, 1995) have been analysed considering the first as favouring sustained involvement while the second as related to initiation of civic engagement, thus affirming the importance of multiple motivations (Kiviniemi et al., 2002) related to participation. Studies on community participation (Cicognani & Zani, 2015, Chavis & Wandersman, 1990) further highlighted the motivations that can lead adolescents and young adults to experience belonging to an organisation, such as integrating needs and interests, having trustful relationship with peers and sharing emotions by joining community organisations. The emphasis on participation at local and community level and the construction of a peer community within the organisation is considered a first step to develop a sense of global citizenship (Arnett, 2002, Reysen & Katzarska- Miller, 2013). Building on these studies and using ethnographic cases as data, this chapter analyses the motivations of adolescents and young adults who sustain their involvement in civic organisations. 24 original narrative interviews from three different Italian youth organisations are considered as life stories of adolescents’ and young adults’ engagement. Qualitative results show that motivations for involvement are related to close peer relationships while motivations for remaining in the organisations are linked to positive emotions experienced in different phases of organisational life. Moreover, peer relationships can be considered an important factor that create new opportunities to act citizenship and to support civic and political development of youth, as highlithed in chapter 3. The construction of peer and friends network within the organisation, strengthen positive emotions and motivations to countinue to be involved in organisations, as stressed in chapter 6. Finally, the ethnographic method allows to give an in-depth lens to explore the relations among motivations of adolescents’ and young adults’ participation

Perceived School Characteristics Fostering Civic Engagement Among Adolescents in Italy

It has been widely argued that effective citizenship education should focus on more than mere teaching of civic knowledge, but should provide a wider range of opportunities for the experience of participation and development of skills, efficacy and interest instrumental to active citizenship. Opportunities for critical reflection such as open classroom discussions, fairness at school, institutional efficacy and student participation at school activities have been linked to the development of civic and political attitudes. The capacity of school education to provide opportunities for critical reflection on students\u2019 participative experiences, however, has not been explored empirically sufficiently. This paper aims to identify the contribution of different school characteristics to the development of civic and political attitudes and their impact on students\u2019 level of participation in civic activities through a mixed methods study. Questionnaire data collected in two waves with 685 adolescents from Italy were analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the effects of school characteristics at Time 1 (democratic climate, student participation and critical reflection) on civic participation at Time 2, mediated by institutional trust, civic efficacy and political interest. In order to explore the quantitative findings and examine further students\u2019 perceptions of the school aspects that support their civic involvement, focus group discussions were conducted with students from secondary schools with different tracks.The results highlight the importance of opportunities for active involvement in school and critical reflection in fostering political interest, efficacy and civic participation. Democratic school climate was found to impact institutional trust and civic efficacy, but not participation. Students\u2019 accounts of schools\u2019 citizenship education activities highlight further the need for a participative environment that rises above information transmission by inviting critical reflection and giving value to students\u2019 active involvement in the institution

Longitudinal predictors of perceived climate change importance and worry among Italian youths : a machine learning approach

The current study aimed to investigate the longitudinal predictors of perceived importance of climate change and personal worry among Italian youths. Specifically, we used machine learning techniques to examine the predictive importance of a wide range of socio-demographic factors, political perceptions, attitudes on a national and European level (identity, attitudes, tolerance, support for democracy, authoritarianism, nationalism, political trust), efficacy beliefs, social well-being, political interest, and different forms of participation on perceived importance of climate change and personal worry. In this longitudinal study, we collected data using a questionnaire in two waves at a one-year interval—in 2016 and 2017. Participants were 1288 Italian young adults (61.3% were female; 38.7% were male) whose mean age was 19.18 (SD = 3.29) ranging between 15 and 30 years. Breiman’s random forest algorithm performed better than Friedman’s gradient boosting machines algorithm. The random forest algorithm revealed that age, tolerance toward migrants, and tolerance toward refugees were the most important predictors of perceived importance of climate change and personal worry. Other important predictors were national/European identity, political interest, internal political efficacy, nationalism, social well-being, self-efficacy, authoritarianism, anti-democratic attitudes, EU warmth, and online and civic participation

Bringing the European Union Closer to its Young Citizens: Youth Active Citizenship in Europe and Trust in EU Institutions

European Union countries are participatory and representative democracies. Therefore, active citizenship in the EU and trust in EU institutions are paramount for the continuation and the strengthening of the EU project. Young Europeans who hold the future in their hands need to be actively engaged not only in the social and political life within their national communities, but also in the wider European community. The papers in this special issue examine whether and how European youth identify with the EU, trust EU institutions and engage in EU issues, and which societal and proximal-level contexts and/or individual-level attributes promote or hinder young people’s active citizenship in European context. They are based on results from the Horizon 2020 CATCH-EyoU project, standing for Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions. Scientists from different disciplines (Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Media and Communications, Education) and from eight European countries (Sweden, Estonia, UK, Germany, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Italy). Together, the papers contribute to the development of a new, cutting-edge conceptualization of youth active citizenship in the EU, and to a better understanding of the factors promoting or inhibiting young EU citizens’ engagement, participation and active citizenship at the European level

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN A CHANGING WORLD: DOES IT CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP?

One of the challenges faced by contemporary societies concerns building a more inclusive society. This objective is particularly compelling in the current historical period characterized by growing social and cultural heterogeneity in European countries and an increase of prejudice and discrimination to-ward immigrants. Global citizenship (GC) can support inclusive attitudes and immigrants\u2019 acceptance. The aim of the study was to test the role of different forms of associative experiences and civic and po-litical participation in promoting GC in the younger generations. Data were collected between October 2016 and January 2017 using paper and online questionnaires. The sample consisted of 1,732 partici-pants (60.7% females; Mage = 19.73). The questionnaire measured demographics, mobility experiences, membership in organizations, latent and manifest political participation. Based on UNESCO conceptual model (2015), GC was operationalized as follows: openness and tolerance toward migrants and refu-gees, trust in people, democratic and civic values, knowledge and political awareness, personal and collective capacity to act politically. Results showed that members of volunteer organizations scored higher in all the dimensions of GC included in the study, compared to nonmembers, while the impact of other kinds of organizational membership and participation on GC was limited. Volunteer organiza-tions proved to be a very important context for the development of GC in young generation

International mobility and friendship relationships: Do they contribute to the development of a sense of global citizenship?

The growing changes that have taken place globally over the last decades have revealed how humanity is strongly interconnected and how responsible actions and cooperation between “citizens of the world” are needed to face emerging challenges. The principal aim of this study was to test a model of a process leading from international friendship relationships and mobility experiences through awareness about global issues and interdependency to a sense of global citizenship. Sense of global citizenship has been conceptualized as encompassing identification as a global citizen, sense of global community, and sense of global social responsibility. Data were collected from a sample of 216 Italian students through a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that international friendship relationships (but not international mobility experiences) were associated with global awareness. In turn, global awareness was related to global citizenship identification, sense of global community, and sense of global social responsibility. Our theory-based structural equation model highlighted a complex process leading from international friendship relationships through awareness about global issues and interdependency to a sense of global citizenship.

Cross-border mobility, European identity and participation among European adolescents and young adults

Cross-border mobility is one of the most important factors that are assumed to strengthen young people’s commitment as European citizens. However, the existing empirical evidence does not provide consistent support. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that cross-border mobility is associated with a stronger European identification, more positive attitudes toward the EU, and with specific visions of the EU, and that these factors, in turn, have a positive effect on engagement at EU level. Data were collected as part of the multinational research project CATCH-EyoU. Analyses were performed controlling for gender, income, country, and migrant status. Results mostly confirmed the hypotheses among both adolescents and young adults, and for both short-term and long-term mobility. EU level participation and EU voting intentions appeared to be influenced by partly different factors. The implications of the findings, both at theoretical level and for the development of international mobility programs, are discusse

The good European citizen: Person-centred analysis of citizenship norms and their correlates in young people from eight European countries

Within the academic debate about good citizenship, several authors have emphasized different possible notions – such as adhesion to more traditional-elitist, solidarity-based or participative norms (Denters, Gabriel, & Torcal, 2007). Recently, scholars have proposed the use of person- centred approaches to analyze typologies of good citizenship conceptions (Hooghe, Oser & Marien, 2016; Reichert, 2016). The existing studies have not addressed until now the European political context or investigated ideas of good citizenship related to a supranational level. The present study examines by means of latent profile analysis young people’s patterns of adhesion to different notions about what is a good European citizen and investigates how the different groups are characterized by socio-demographic characteristics, levels of participation and perceptions of belonging or political alienation related to the European context. The study is part of the Catch-EyoU project and uses the pilot questionnaire data with a sample of 994 respondents from two age groups –adolescents (16-19 years old, 52.7%) and young adults (20-26 years old, 47.3%)– collected in eight European countries. The results identified five different profiles that distinguished between youth who held a mixed conception of the good European citizen (where different normative ideas coexist), groups that emphasized a particular view and a pattern of low adhesion to all theorized conceptions. While most respondents give high importance on both traditional and more participative norms, the findings confirm the existence of comparatively more passive views and of a critically oriented group differentiated by more negative perception of the European context