Youth Citizenship in Canada:
‘Apathy’, Engagement, & Education
EDU 6426 | Dr. Douglas Fleming
June 11, 2015
Carrie Griffith, Feifei Ding, Ryan Douglass, & Jennifer Bergen
University of Ottawa
Presentation Outline
● Youth Citizenship
● Are Youth Apathetic?
■ Activity #1
● Factors Influencing Youth Civic
Engagement
■ Activity #2
■ Case Study: Shannen
Koostachin
● Implications for Youth Civic
Education
● Further Discussion & Questions
What is ‘Youth Citizenship?’
What is ‘Youth Civic Engagement’?
● Who ‘youth’ are differs contextually, and can range anywhere
between the ages of 14-29, depending on the study.
● Youth civic and political participation is tied to the idea of citizenship
(Sherrod, Flanagan, & Youniss, 2002).
● O’Neil (2007) argues that youth political participation is limited to
actions, whereas youth civic/political engagement also refers to
values, beliefs, and efficacy (p. 2). Civic engagement then, extends
these values and beliefs to other community initiatives.
What is ‘Youth Citizenship?’
Why is youth civic engagement important?
● “ … the health and stability of a modern democracy depends … on the
qualities and attitudes of its citizens” (Kymlicka & Norman, 2000).
● Democratic societies “must have a type of education which gives individuals
a personal interest in social relationships and control, and the habits of mind
which secure social changes” (Dewey, 1924, p. 115).
● Many scholars and policymakers believe that effective citizenship education
can affect youth dis/engagement (Hughes, Print & Sears, 2010; Sears, 2004;
Youniss, 2011).
Are Youth Apathetic?
Group Activity #1: Think, Pair, Share
➔ On your own, draft an answer to the question:
“Are Canadian youth apathetic citizens?”
➔ Once you have an answer, turn to a partner and
discuss why you answered the way you did.
➔ Next, pairs will share their answers with the group.
Are Youth Apathetic?
View 1
Youth civic engagement in societal concerns
is fading, democratic citizenship is eroding.
View 2
Increase in youth political engagement, but
in more untraditional forms.
View 3
Acknowledge that both engagement and disengagement are
simultaneously occurring as young people navigate an entirely new
world.
Are Youth Apathetic?
Apathy is Boring: Youth
Voting & Volunteering
VISION: A Canada where every young Canadian is
an active and creative citizen, and youth are
meaningfully engaged in all aspects of the
democratic process.
Vote Mobs: Youth Voting
Inspiration for the first vote mob in Guelph came
from CBC comedian Rick Mercer's rant calling on
young people to "do the unexpected" and vote. The
vote mobs were then widely spreaded in Canadian
PSE, and then to the US.
Are Youth Apathetic?
Opting out or forced out?
● “Not ‘one of us’- non-engaged youth feel about politics and political leadership”
(Bastedo, 2015).
○ More educated youth vote, few educated, aboriginal youth, language
minorities, new immigrant youth vote.
● Subjective Well-Being Vs. Political Participation (Lorenzini, 2015).
○ Life dissatisfaction fosters the participation in contacting activities of
employed youth. Life satisfaction fosters participation in protest activities of
the unemployed youth
Factors Influencing Youth Civic Engagement
Group Activity #2
● In groups of three, create a web of factors (on your
flip-chart paper) that you think may influence youth
civic engagement.
● Once you have drawn as many as you can think of, see
if you can categorize or group any of them together.
● Present your themes and factors to the class.
Factors Influencing Youth Civic Engagement
Parents
● Adolescents whose parents are interested
in political and social issues have higher
levels of civic knowledge (Cicognani et al.,
2011; Gniewos, 2009; Schulz, 2010).
● Individuals whose parents engage in civic
volunteering have higher levels of civic and
political participation (Briggs, 2008;
Cicognani et al., 2011; Zurkin et al., 2006).
● Parents act as brokers and advocates for
youth (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000).
Factors Influencing Youth Civic Engagement
Social Class & Community
○ Youth from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have the resources that
facilitate political and civic engagement (Fisher, 2012; White & Gager,
2007). They also engage more in political discussion and report they are
more willing to take action (Wicks, 2013).
○ Neighborhood social capital may operate to increase positive youth
engagement (Duke, 2011; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000).
○ Sense of community significantly predicts voting intentions (Cicognani et
al., 2011).
Factors Influencing Youth Civic Engagement
Organizations or Committees
● Through adolescent involvement in civic groups and voluntary associations,
youth are more likely to become politically involved (McFarland & Thomas,
2006; Sherrod et al., 2010).
● Youth participation in extracurricular activities such as student media, student
council/government, and arts/drama clubs predicts political participation in
young adulthood (Denault & Poulin, 2009; Fredricks & Eccles, 2006; Glanville,
1999; Smith 1999).
● Adolescent involvement in community organisations offering programmes
designed to foster civic and political engagement, predicts adult political
participation (Larson & Hansen, 2005).
Case Study: Shannen Koostachin
●
“At 14, she was nominated for the International Children's
Peace Prize for her work to end the systemic under-funding
of First Nation school children” (Angus, 2012).
●
Reason for their traditional and nontraditional
engagement: education.
●
“The five success factors for social inclusion include:
funding...coordination … access … reflexivity … and
empowerment” (Wearing, 2010).
“..the largest youth driven child’s right movement in Canadian history”
- Charlie Angus, MP Hi-Ho Mistahey
Case Study: Shannen Koostachin
‘Formal / traditional’ citizenship participation:
●
Protests for a safe school on the reserve, letter writing campaign to MPs, news conferences.
“..at the age of 13, Shannen stood beside a pair of grade-eight friends at a news
conference on Parliament Hill. In clear voices, they made their case to the
country. Then they marched off to confront the Minister of Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC)” (Goyette, 2010).
‘Nontraditional’ citizenship participation:
●
●
YouTube video campaign
Facebook campaign
Implications for Civic Education
Civic education leads to civic and political engagement (Kahne,
Crow, & Lee, 2013).
However! Certain civic knowledge, skills, and values, and
certain forms of civic education pedagogy do not serve all
students equally (Kincheloe, 2008):
● How is the educational system structured?
● What curricular knowledge, skills, and values are thought to be needed for
civic participation?
● What are the pedagogies, student-teacher relationships, classroom and
school structures? (Reid, Gill, & Sears, 2010, pp. 5-6).
Implications for Civic Education
How should civics education be taught?
1. Knowledge Transmission
(Evans, 2006; Llewellyn, Cook, & Molina, 2010; Losito & Mintrop, 2010; Sears & Hughes, 1996)
1. Deliberative Classrooms
(Bickmore, 2008; Feldman 2007; Hyslop-Margison & Thayer, 2009; Kahne, Crow, & Lee, 2013; Strachan,
2006; Torney-Purta, 2007)
1. Service-learning
(Mendel-Reyes, 1998; Pasek, Feldman, Romer, & Jamieson, 2008; Youniss, 2011)
1. Youth-led Projects / Participatory Action Research
(Anderson, 2015; Cammarota & Romero, 2011; Ginwright, 2008; Mirra, Morrell, Cain, Scorza, & Ford, 2013)
Implications for Civic Education
Discussion & Questions
● Should formal or informal participation by youth be
emphasized?
● How do YOU think civics education should be taught?
● What are the drawbacks to studying youth as a
homogenous group?
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