Education Through Citizenship at School: Do School Activities Have a Lasting Impact on Youth Political Engagement?

TLDR

Over the past two decades, policy initiatives have been proposed to address youth disengagement from politics, and “education through citizenship”—formal and informal learning opportunities that enable students to acquire civic skills and knowledge through hands‑on experiences—has emerged as one such approach. This article examines the impact of introducing activities that teach “education through citizenship” at school. Using data from the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study, the authors examined school councils, debate teams, and mock elections—common “education through citizenship” activities in England—to assess their short‑ and medium‑term effects on political engagement. The study finds that these activities have a lasting, independent effect on youth political engagement, supporting continued implementation of education through citizenship.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, various policy initiatives have been proposed to solve the perceived problem of youth disengagement from politics. This article examines the impact of one such policy initiative—namely the introduction of activities that seek to teach 'education through citizenship' at school. In short, 'education through citizenship' involves formal and informal learning opportunities that enable students to acquire civic skills and knowledge through hands-on experiences. School councils, debate teams and/or mock elections are some of the most common 'education through citizenship' activities in schools in England, and drawing on data from the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study this article shows that such activities can indeed have an effect, not just in the short-term (as previous studies in England have shown), but also in the medium-term (by encouraging political engagement once the students have left the confines of the school). This article thus argues that school activities can have a lasting and independent impact on youth political engagement and provides support for the continuation of education through citizenship, as well as about citizenship.