Rethinking youth policy model in Europe and its constituents: civic learning and civic engagement

Abstract

Drawing on the European framework for youth policy, the paper initially explores an idealized model of what governments at their best can do regarding youth policy in Europe, including its objective, core, and means. A critical analysis of the European framework yields a new dimension – internal/external Political Efficacy – which plays a pivotal role as a connector between the core and the means of youth policy. The model of youth policy proposed here is fundamentally underpinned by two means: Civic Learning and Civic Engagement. Lastly, the paper proposes the model of managing a holistic feature of the youth policy.

Keywords:

• Youth policy
• European framework
• idealized model
• civic learning
• civic engagement

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to extend my heartfelt gratitude towards Professor Jens Hoff, Professor Sarah Christine Swider, and David Stuligross who gave me great feedback and insights into the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Please see www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/.

2. ‘A European framework for youth policy’ aims to provide policymakers from the 48 parties to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe with guidelines for the formulation and implementation of their youth policy. This framework was prepared by Mr. Lasse Siurala, Director of Youth in the City of Helsinki (Finland) and former Director of Youth and Sport in the Council of Europe, on the basis of the results of the work carried out by a group of experts designated by the CDEJ.

3. NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) is the leading association in the United States for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession.

4. Community engagement pedagogies, often called ‘service learning,’ combine learning goals and community service in ways that can enhance both student growth and the common good.

5. CASEL is dedicated to advancing the science and practice of school-based social and emotional learning (SEL). CASEL’s mission is to make social and emotional learning an integral part of education from preschool through high school.

6. For instance, Gert Biesta (2014) adopts the term ‘Civic Learning’ in his discussion of individual identity formation whereas Siurala adopts the term ‘citizenship learning.’

7. Around 5 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU-28 area in December 2014, which represents an unemployment rate of 21.4% in the EU (European Commision 2015).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the China Scholarship Council [201607940008]; S.C. Van Fonden [1739].