Young People’s Community Engagement: What Does Research-Based and Other Literature Tell us About Young People’s Perspectives and the Impact of Schools’ Contributions?

Abstract

This narrative synthesis based on a literature review undertaken for the project ‘Creating Citizenship Communities’ (funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation) includes discussion, principally, about what research evidence tells us about young people’s definitions of community, of types of engagement by different groups of young people, actions by schools and what they might do in the future to promote engagement. Community is seen as a highly significant and contested area. Young people are viewed negatively by adults but are in some contexts already positively engaged in communities. There seem to be gaps in the literature about what young people understand about community. There is, broadly, some consensus about how to promote engagement.

Keywords:

• citizenship
• community
• engagement
• education

Acknowledgements

The work for this article was supported by a grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for the project Creating Citizenship Communities through New Approaches to Learning (10-1102).