A new book examined the links between changing social policies and welfare concepts with respect to 'citizenship-at-large' (personal, democratic, and social rights) in nine European countries including the United Kingdom. It looked at the ways in which citizenship had changed in key areas such as social security, labour market policies, and social services.
Source: Adalbert Evers and Anne-Marie Guillemard (eds), Social Policy and Citizenship: The changing landscape, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Notes: Chapters included: Ruth Lister, 'Social Citizenship in New Labour's New "Active" Welfare State: The case of the United Kingdom'.
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the change in policy on the third sector following the election of the coalition government in 2010. There had been a transition from 'hyperactive mainstreaming' (in which significant support was provided for the sector) to the 'Big Society' agenda (under which voluntary and community action were promoted as an alternative to state intervention).
Source: Pete Alcock, Jeremy Kendall, and Jane Parry, 'From the third sector to the Big Society: consensus or contention in the 2010 UK General Election?', Voluntary Sector Review, Volume 3 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined variations in the gender gap in associational involvement in European countries, based on memberships in voluntary associations. There was a 'complex relationship' between societal context and the gender gap in associational involvement. The latter might be another piece in the jigsaw puzzle of overall gender inequality in contemporary societies.
Source: Sascha Peter and Sonja Drobnic, 'Women and their memberships: gender gap in relational dimension of social inequality', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Volume 31 publication
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book examined European Union citizenship, and the extent to which the European citizen was, or was not, genuinely at the heart of EU law and policy-making. It considered the extent to which channels of citizen participation informed EU policy-making in a 'bottom up' sense; or whether the EU was a catalyst for the construction of new spaces and new identities.
Source: Michael Dougan, Niamh Nic Shuibhne, and Eleanor Spaventa (eds), Empowerment and Disempowerment of the European Citizen, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Nov
A special issues of a journal examined the European Citizens' Initiative.
Source: Perspectives on European Politics and Society, Volume 13 Number 3
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2012-Nov
An article said that the importance that people attached to helping others, and the extent to which they helped in practice, varied considerably across Europe. People were more likely to see helping other people as important than to actually help in practice. However, helping in practice was more strongly associated than helping as a value with other civic engagement activities. Both the value of help and helping in practice were associated with the extent to which people in their local area were perceived to help each other.
Source: Kingsley Purdam and Mark Tranmer, 'Helping values and civic engagement', European Societies, Volume 14 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined 'European Union citizenship' in its broadest sense, and the extent to which the European citizen was, or was not, genuinely at the heart of EU law and policy-making.
Source: Michael Dougan, Niamh Nic Shuibhne, and Eleanor Spaventa, Empowerment and Disempowerment of the European Citizen, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
A report provided an overview and critical assessment of the proposed Europe for Citizens programme 2014–2020, which was designed to enhance remembrance and civic participation in Europe.
Source: Markus Prutsch, Europe for Citizens (2014–2020), European Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined the history of community-centred policies. Successful local engagement was not an alternative to government intervention, but could only be achieved with carefully balanced and directed state support. Small-scale citizen-led initiatives required space in which to flourish. They also depended on a framework of law and accountability that permitted community-based enterprises a formal identity, and on financial support so that they could achieve real changes. There was a danger that, faced with short- and long-term financial pressures, governments would find reliance on local resourcefulness much more attractive than the public spending necessary for success.
Source: Anne Power, The 'Big Society' and Concentrated Neighbourhood Problems, British Academy
Links: Report | Summary | British Academy press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined how citizenship policies in Europe affected naturalization rates among immigrants. Favourable citizenship policies positively affected naturalization rates, especially among first-generation immigrants with more than 5 but fewer than 20 years of residence. However, most variation was explained by other factors. Immigrants from poor, politically unstable, and non-European Union countries were more likely to be a citizen of their European country of residence.
Source: Jaap Dronkers and Maarten Peter Vink, 'Explaining access to citizenship in Europe: How citizenship policies affect naturalization rates', European Union Politics, Volume 13 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A report examined the role of the 'Big Society' agenda in managing risk in society. It distinguished between traditional 'top-down' methods of risk management employed by the state through laws and regulations, and the 'bottom-up' approach that sought to manage risk by engaging ordinary people and communities. Bottom-up approaches were both under-theorized and under-utilized, and were worthy of greater inspection: they could 'roll back bureaucracy' and provide more intuitive ways for people to self-regulate their approach to risk.
Source: Ben Rogers, Risk and the Big Society, 2020 Public Services Hub/Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce
Date: 2012-Aug
An article highlighted serious problems with the citizenship test. There was a need to revise and update the test, expand it to include questions about British history and basic law, and reconsider what new citizens were expected to know more broadly. The focus should be on what future citizens should be expected to know rather than how others might be excluded.
Source: Thom Brooks, 'The British citizenship test: the case for reform', Political Quarterly, Volume 83 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the practices of family law by Muslims in contemporary Britain. It challenged the exclusive focus on positivist state law as the sole legal framework within which western conceptions of citizenship were being imagined. It analyzed practices of British-Muslim family law as an incipient 'legal field' that was developing a corresponding market of Islamic legal services.
Source: Lisa Pilgram, 'British-Muslim family law and citizenship', Citizenship Studies, Volume 16 Number 5-6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the continuing resilience of the notion of community in social policy-making and wider political commentary. Placing community at the heart of existing welfare provision illuminated a number of tensions in the coalition government's policy-making agenda. The authors highlighted the contradictions between top-down, depoliticized understandings of community and the types of community engagement and participation that were to be found in poor, disadvantaged communities in particular. Such communities were also where the impact of 'austerity' measures were being most keenly felt.
Source: Lynn Hancock, Gerry Mooney, and Sarah Neal, 'Crisis social policy and the resilience of the concept of community', Critical Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article said that the formation of the coalition government in 2010 had resulted in unprecedented spending cuts combined with the promotion of the 'Big Society' as the panacea for social ills. The cuts continued a 30-year process of redistribution to the rich, rather than being a necessary response to the economic crisis. On the other hand, there was a real need for new policies to promote sustainable development and human well-being, accompanied by reduced consumption and self-organization in civil society.
Source: Ruth Levitas, 'The just's umbrella: austerity and the Big Society in coalition policy and beyond', Critical Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined how in recent years both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party had begun to argue that the institutions of civil society and community should be reinvigorated and strengthened. Although both parties' approaches unquestionably represented an engagement with communitarian ideas, they faced significant challenges. The Conservatives' 'Big Society' faced more profound impediments than 'Blue Labour' which, if it were able to overcome its own difficulties, might well support the foundation of a powerful, communitarian social democracy.
Source: Daniel Sage, 'A challenge to liberalism? The communitarianism of the Big Society and Blue Labour', Critical Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A study mapped the theory, policy, practices, and levels of civic engagement across Europe. It looked at how people took part in society, communities, and politics; how much they got involved; and what barriers were in their way. The authors warned against concentrating on economic policies – at the expense of participation and social cohesion – to create growth.
Source: Bryony Hoskins, Hermann Abs, Christine Han, David Kerr, and Wiel Veugelers, Contextual Analysis Report: Participatory Citizenship in the European Union, European Commission | Bryony Hoskins, David Kerr, Hermann Abs, Germ Janmaat, Jo Morrison, Rebecca Ridley, and Juliet Sizmur, Analytic Report: Participatory Citizenship in the European Union, European Commission | Janez Krek, Bruno Losito, Rebecca Ridley, and Bryony Hoskins, Good Practices Report: Participatory Citizenship in the European Union, European Commission | Bryony Hoskins and David Kerr, Final Study Summary and Policy Recommendations: Participatory Citizenship in the European Union, European Commission
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Report (3) | Report (4) | Citizenship Foundation press release
Date: 2012-Jul
An article summarized research findings from 'nudge' experiments that aimed to increase civic participation, and discussed implications for the voluntary and public sectors. Nudging had modest impacts for short-term behaviour shifts: but the carrier of the nudge message might influence citizen responsiveness, demanding novel and joint approaches by voluntary and public sector organizations.
Source: Sarah Cotterill, Alice Moseley, and Liz Richardson, 'Can nudging create the Big Society? Experiments in civic behaviour and implications for the voluntary and public sectors', Voluntary Sector Review, Volume 3 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined previous government programmes to promote community-based learning for active citizenship, and emerging lessons from them. It outlined two approaches – the Active Learning for Active Citizenship programme, and its successor programme Take Part – and considered their impacts and limitations, and their potential implications for the coalition government's own policy agenda.
Source: Marjorie Mayo, Zoraida Mendiwelso-Bendek, and Carol Packham, 'Learning to take part as active citizens: emerging lessons for community organising in Britain', Voluntary Sector Review, Volume 3 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A report said that members of the voluntary and community sector were confused about the real meaning and vision behind the 'Big Society'. Government narratives on the policy were often not taken seriously within the sector, and the concept was seen as vague and inaccessible or little more than a rebranding exercise by many.
Source: Terry Potter, Graham Brotherton, and Christina Hyland, The Voluntary Sector in Transition: Changing priorities, changing ideologies, Newman University College (Birmingham)
Links: Report | Newman College press release
Date: 2012-Jun
A report examined how policies and measures relating to citizenship education had evolved over recent years in European countries.
Source: Citizenship Education in Europe, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book examined the historical origins of the concept of the 'Big Society' and considered the challenges involved in translating the ideas of the Big Society agenda into practice.
Source: Armine Ishkanian and Simon Szreter, The Big Society Debate: A new agenda for social welfare?, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book developed a normative theory of citizenship that brought together a wide range of issues under a common framework. It distinguished two different ways of thinking about citizenship: under the first, the demands of citizenship were grounded exclusively in considerations of justice; under the second, they were grounded in the good that was realized by a political community the members of which treated each other as equals, not only in the political process but in civil society and beyond.
Source: Andrew Mason, Living Together as Equals: The demands of citizenship, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined the coalition government s 'Big Society' agenda. It explored the policy context for the initiative and its key features. It outlined some of the contradictions and challenges within the programme, and for the relationship between the third sector and the state more generally.
Source: Pete Alcock, The Big Society: A New Policy Environment for the Third Sector?, Working Paper 82, Third Sector Research Centre
Date: 2012-Jun
A report examined the nature of philanthropy in society, how it related to the needs and ideals of the 'Big Society', and the emerging implications for policy and practice. Although philanthropy played a vital social role, its contribution was limited by the values of donors: philanthropic policy and decision-making therefore needed to be directed at areas where giving was most needed, and in ways that led to greater inclusion, diversity, and social justice. The coalition government's social investment strategy was 'paradoxical and fragmented', despite the commitment to the Big Society, with funding cuts undermining the very projects that the initiative sought to encourage.
Source: Andrew Steeds (ed.), Philanthropy and a Better Society, Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy
Links: Report | CGAP press release | Civil Society report
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank report said that people who were members of local social organizations forged relationships throughout their community, benefiting both individuals and society at large. It said that provoking group instead of individual behaviours, and using groups and clubs to draw in other individuals and communities, should be central to policy initiatives. Existing networks and associations, such as clubs and club-type activity, had the resources and connexions to catalyze greater social good in communities.
Source: Keith Cooper and Caroline Macfarland, Clubbing Together: The hidden wealth of communities, ResPublica
Links: Report | ResPublica press release | Civil Society report
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book examined how states in western Europe dealt with the challenges of migration for their citizenship policies.
Source: Maarten Vink (ed.), Migration and Citizenship Attribution: Politics and policies in western Europe, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined why and how the Labour governments (1997-2010) introduced citizenship education as a compulsory subject in the national curriculum.
Source: Ben Kisby, The Labour Party and Citizenship Education: Policy networks and the introduction of citizenship lessons in schools, Manchester University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined local democracy, civic engagement, political participation, and community. It said that local democracy was a 'vibrant terrain' of innovation, civic engagement and participation, and dynamic community activity.
Source: Hugh Atkinson, Local Democracy, Civic Engagement and Community: From New Labour to the Big Society, Manchester University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A briefing paper examined how many foreign citizens acquired British citizenship every year, their demographic characteristics, and the various bases for granting them citizenship.
Source: Scott Blinder, Naturalisation As a British Citizen: Concepts and Trends, Migration Observatory (University of Oxford)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the theoretical basis of the claim that social cohesion was served better by processes within civil society than by government policies. The civil society argument had both strengths and weaknesses: group processes and group interests in civil society might lead towards exclusion rather than inclusion. The civil society route to social cohesion was uncertain: the groupings that developed did not necessarily promote commitments broadly across society, particularly between advantaged and disadvantaged citizens.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, 'The civil society route to social cohesion', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 7/8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An independent evaluation of the National Citizen Service found that for every £1 spent on the scheme, up to £2 was being returned to communities.
Source: NatCen Social Research/Office for Public Management/New Philanthropy Capital, Evaluation of National Citizen Service Pilots: Interim Report, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | Labour Party press release | Civil Society report | Guardian report
Notes: The National Citizen Service is designed to bring together young people aged 16-17 from different backgrounds to undertake 'character-forming' community work. It is loosely modelled on military service but is voluntary.
Date: 2012-May
A report examined whether positive behaviour change was most effectively achieved through central government action or at a local level (through the combined efforts of local agencies, the voluntary sector, and citizens). The exact relationship between government action, citizen behaviour, and effective public outcomes remained hazy, despite examples of good practice and robust evidence across government. There were real opportunities to use the 'nudge' approach at a local level: but without more experiments to close the gap in evidence, the government might have to settle for only moderate changes in citizen behaviour.
Source: Peter John (with Liz Richardson), Nudging Citizens Towards Localism?, British Academy
Links: Report | Summary | British Academy press release
Date: 2012-May
A report by a committee of MPs repeated its recommendation that, in order to drive forward the 'Big Society' agenda, the coalition government should appoint a single 'Big Society Minister' with a cross-cutting brief, who would produce a comprehensive and coherent change programme, and co-ordinate Big Society policies across Government.
Source: The Big Society: Further Report with the Government Response to the Committee's Seventeenth Report of Session 2010-12, First Report (Session 2012-13), HC 98, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2012-May
A report evaluated the coalition government's 'Big Society' project. It said that if the initiative were to succeed it would need to target poorer communities, together with young and minority-ethnic people, and work in genuine partnership with the voluntary sector. Community organizations that were expected to deliver the project had been dealt a 'body blow' by the first tranche of expected £3.3 billion cuts in government funding to the voluntary sector over three years; and a support programme for charities at risk of going out of business was 'too little, too late'.
Source: Caroline Slocock, The Big Society Audit 2012, Civil Exchange
Links: Report | Civil Exchange press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-May
A report said that helping others was beneficial for people's mental health and well-being.
Source: Dan Robotham, Isabella Goldie, Lauren Chakkalackal, Chris White, Kirsten Morgan, and Eva Cyhlarova, Doing Good? Altruism and wellbeing in an age of austerity, Mental Health Foundation
Links: Report | MHF press release
Date: 2012-May
A study (in four parts) mapped the theory, policy, practices, and levels of civic engagement across Europe.
Source: Bryony Hoskins, Hermann Abs, Christine Han, David Kerr, and Wiel Veugelers, Participatory Citizenship in the European Union: Contextual Analysis Report, European Commission | Bryony Hoskins, David Kerr, Hermann Abs, Germ Janmaat, Jo Morrison, Rebecca Ridley, and Juliet Sizmur, Participatory Citizenship in the European Union: Analytic Report, European Commission | Janez Krek, Bruno Losito, Rebecca Ridley, and Bryony Hoskins, Participatory Citizenship in the European Union: Good Practices Report, European Commission | Bryony Hoskins and David Kerr, Participatory Citizenship in the European Union: Final Study Summary and Policy Recommendations, European Commission
Links: Report part 1 | Report part 2 | Report part 3 | Report part 4
Date: 2012-May
A report used the insights of behavioural economics to examine citizens' motivations for civic and civil engagement – focusing on those who were less likely to engage than the average, but who 'bucked the trend'. There was evidence that suggested that it was time, not money, that constituted the main 'cost' to getting involved.
Source: Beth Foley and Simon Griffiths, Engaging Behaviour: Behavioural economics and citizen engagement, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Report
Notes: Publication of this report was delayed by the coalition government.
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book provided a critical response to the coalition government's 'Big Society' agenda and its impact on society. It set out a critique of the barriers to social participation across racial, class, and gender divides; and offered social policy solutions for the creation of a less divided and more inclusive society.
Source: Madeline-Sophie Abbas and Ratna Lachman (eds.), The Big Society: The Big Divide, Jeremy Mills Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper explored tensions around the notion of citizenship and its effect on state inclusion or exclusion. It considered what they said about the nature of citizenship as a formal status, and about the nation as an imagined 'community of value'. It also examined naturalization processes as attempts to match formal citizenship with the community of value. It argued for an analytical approach that considered the exclusion of non-citizens (migrants and refugees) alongside the exclusion of 'failed' citizens (such as (ex)-prisoners and 'welfare dependents').
Source: Bridget Anderson, What Does The Migrant Tell Us About the (Good) Citizen?, Working Paper 12-94, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (University of Oxford)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Apr
The consumer rights watchdog examined the attitudes of regular users of services towards greater localism, and the appetite for greater participation in both local decision-making and service delivery. There was a strong desire among citizens to influence local services: but there were obstacles to this becoming a reality.
Source: Liz Coll, Hands Up and Hands On: Understanding the new opportunities for localism and community empowerment, Consumer Focus
Date: 2012-Apr
An article said that religious groups saw the coalition government's 'Big Society' agenda as an opportunity to reverse a long-term process of waning social influence and to reshape the role of faith in the public sphere. In the way of these objectives being achieved, however, were a number of serious problems, including the existing economic and political situation, the particular characteristics of faith groups themselves, and general attitudes towards religion in public life. Given the importance attached to the participation of faith-based organizations in the Big Society project, these issues had significant implications both for the future role of religion in the public sphere and for the unfolding of the programme itself.
Source: Steven Kettell, 'Religion and the Big Society: a match made in heaven?', Policy & Politics, Volume 40 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the implications of conceptions of citizenship for immigrant populations in Europe. The dominant citizenship model privileged individuality: although it expanded the boundaries and forms of participation in society, it also burdened the individual, rather than the state, with the obligation of ensuring social cohesion and solidarity – disadvantaging not only non-European migrants but also the 'lesser' Europeans.
Source: Yasemin Nuhoglu Soysal, 'Citizenship, immigration, and the European social project: rights and obligations of individuality', British Journal of Sociology, Volume 63 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article said that the development of supranational social rights in Europe, and therefore a European social citizenship, was undermined by strong, direct relationships between citizens and national welfare states. Social policies contributed to national identities because they entailed direct relationships between states and citizens. This inability to create a common social policy in the European Union was harmful to democracy.
Source: Carly Elizabeth Schall, 'Is the problem of European citizenship a problem of social citizenship? Social policy, federalism, and democracy in the EU and United States', Sociological Inquiry, Volume 82 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A special issue of a journal examined human rights and citizenship education.
Source: Cambridge Journal of Education, Volume 42 Issue 1
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined the effect of the European Citizens' Initiative on European public debate and notably on civil society organizations – looking into what type of public space it might foster.
Source: Luis Bouza Garcia, Victor Cuesta Lopez, Elitsa Mincheva, and Dorota Szeligowska, The European Citizens Initiative: A First Assessment, Bruges Political Research Paper 24, College of Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Feb
An article compared the English tradition of active citizenship education with the tradition in the United States of America of 'service learning'.
Source: Lee Jerome, 'Service learning and active citizenship education in England', Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, Volume 7 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Notes: Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates community service with instruction in civic responsibility.
Date: 2012-Feb
An article said that the development of philosophical and critical thinking skills might usefully improve social and political awareness in young people. Teachers and schools needed to be more willing to challenge dominant, reductive notions of education in favour of more active and democratic conceptions of the secondary curriculum.
Source: Dean Garratt and Heather Piper, 'Citizenship education and philosophical enquiry: putting thinking back into practice', Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, Volume 7 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper examined the relative shares of the total amounts of charitable giving, volunteering, and participation in civic associations accounted for by different sections of the population in England and Wales. It highlighted the way in which a small group of people contributed a large proportion of formal civic engagement: one-third of the population provided 90 per cent of volunteering hours, four-fifths of the amount given to charity, and nearly 80 per cent of participation in civic associations.. This group could be thought of as the 'civic core'.
Source: John Mohan and Sarah Bulloch, The Idea of a Civic Core : What are the overlaps between charitable giving, volunteering, and civic participation in England and Wales?, Working Paper 73, Third Sector Research Centre
Links: Paper | Brief | Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined Thatcherite (1979 onwards) and New Labour (1997-2010) approaches to active citizenship policy. The New Labour approach could be traced to the latter part of the Thatcher period, and was designed to overcome the 'weak citizenship' characteristic of neoliberalism by mobilizing citizen assent. Judged against this benchmark, the project might be said to have had only limited success.
Source: Jonathan Davies, 'Active citizenship: navigating the Conservative heartlands of the New Labour project', Policy & Politics, Volume 40 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A think-tank report said that if the coalition government's 'stalled' Big Society programme could be revived, it would make it possible for the country to emerge from the economic crisis as a stronger and more cohesive society, as well as a happier and healthier one.
Source: Anthony Seldon, The Politics of Optimism, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jan
A report presented the findings of a study into the motivations, barriers, and facilitators of pro-social activity among young people.
Source: Lucy Lee, Gareth Morrell, Annalisa Marini, and Sarah Smith, Barriers and Facilitators to Pro-Social Behaviour Among Young People: A review of existing evidence, Research Report RR188, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the strengths and weaknesses of the coalition government's 'Big Society' programme in the light of what was known about young people's politics – while youth participation in electoral politics had declined rapidly in recent decades, participation in issue-based forms of civic and political engagement had actually increased.
Source: James Sloam, '"Rejuvenating democracy?" Young people and the "Big Society" project', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A study tracked a representative sample of the first students to receive compulsory citizenship education from age 11, focusing on the first cohort who had reached ages 19 and 20, over a period including the 2010 general election. Levels of political and economic awareness were found to be higher among the cohort group: but general levels of civic engagement were found to be low across a number of key measures such as interest in politics and support for a political party.
Source: Linda Sturman, Naomi Rowe, Marian Sainsbury, Rebecca Wheater, and David Kerr, Citizens in Transition in England, Wales and Scotland: Young citizens at 18-25, National Foundation for Educational Research
Links: Report | NFER press release | ACT press release
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the different approaches to citizenship education that had been adopted in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. A common framework for citizenship education based on four key principles – political literacy, experiential learning, appropriate institutional structures, and supply-side measures – would help to promote political participation.
Source: Ben Kisby and James Sloam, 'Citizenship, democracy and education in the UK: towards a common framework for citizenship lessons in the four home nations', Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 65 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan