ABSTRACT
The introduction of citizenship education (CE) into the Secondary National Curriculum in England in 2002 was rooted in anxieties about levels of civic engagement amongst young people. This anxious starting point has very much influenced the ways in which attention has been paid to young people’s civic engagement. Policy concerned with young people and civic engagement has been dominated by a view of young people as inadequate performers in civic society. By way of example both the current coalition government and the previous Labour UK government have each developed their own programmes aimed at encouraging a more civically engaged body of young people in Britain. Young people’s lack of civic engagement is portrayed as manifesting itself in various guises, ranging from apathy to anti-social behaviour, each of which are generally held to be problematic for other members of society. By way of contrast, civic engagement is held to be beneficial for both individuals and society as a whole, and it is therefore generally perceived to be intrinsically rewarding behaviour that is to be encouraged amongst young people. Those interested in pursuing social justice have turned their attention to
examining the civic engagement of marginalised young people including those from socio-economically disadvantaged communities. This interest perhaps reflects a concern that whilst these young people potentially have the most to gain from being civically engaged, they are also often the young people facing the most challenges in their lives which may adversely affect their levels of civic engagement for a variety of reasons. This risk is heightened because some altruistic behaviours relevant to these young people are not traditionally regarded as indicative of civic engagement because they do not occur within the public, and therefore civic, domain. Instead, they occur in the private domain. This chapter has a specific focus on young people living in areas of socio-economic
disadvantage. It examines the evidence base that has focused on the civic engagement of young people. Then, having found the evidence base to be lacking, it argues that if we know little about the civic engagement of young people in general, then we know even less about the civic engagement of young people
living in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. It finds that issues of epistemology and measurement are significant in explaining the diversity of views about whether or not young people are civically engaged. The chapter begins by addressing the question what is civic engagement?
