THE CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP CONSTRUCTED BY YOUTHS WHO EXPERIENCED CHILDHOOD PARTICIPATION

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The purpose of this paper is to present findings that arise from the project Child Participation and Construction of Citizenship. Part of this work addressed the mid-term impact of being involved in genuine participatory experiences during childhood. These experiences can be developed in three different educational settings: in school, in non-curricular activities or at the community level in city councils. This article focuses on data related to how the youths who had those experiences perceived the concept of good citizenship. METHODS. The study makes use of evaluative participatory research, involving surveys and semi-structured interviews. The cohort is composed of people aged 18 to 22: a first group includes the population that had a childhood participatory experience between the age of 8 to 10 (n=277); the second group is composed of a population that has never had this kind of experience (n=400). RESULTS. The results presented in this paper reflect the outcomes of the uni-variable and bi-variable analysis of items referring to the development of the concept of good citizen, as well as the analysis of the content of the interviews in terms of their characterization of a good citizen around four main dimensions: respect, civility, participation and sense of community. DISCUSSION. We report that youths from the group with participatory experience during their childhood maintain an idea of citizenship that is more elaborate and demanding compared to the control group. This behavior is linked to the civic humanism and respect towards communal life and social harmony. In conclusion, childhood participatory experiences sensitize people to the concept of citizenship, stressing aspects such as participation, critical thinking and social and political engagement.