This is a repository copy of Taking action for change: youth civic engagement and activism. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/148500/ Version: Published Version Book: Davies, Ian orcid.org/0000-0003-4434-9581, Evans, Mark, Fulop, Marta et al. (3 more authors) (2019) Taking action for change: youth civic engagement and activism. , (80pp). Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism A RESOURCE FOR EDUCATORS EDITED BY: Ian Davies, Mark Evans, Márta Fülöp, Dina Kiwan, Andrew Peterson, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim mta ttk INSTITUTE OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism A RESOURCE FOR EDUCATORS PREPARED AND EDITED BY: Ian Davies Mark Evans Márta Fülöp Dina Kiwan Andrew Peterson Jasmine B.-Y. Sim Youth activism, engagement and the development of new civic learning spaces AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK PROJECT 3 Published by University of York, Department of Education First published 2019 © University of York All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated with the publisher’s prior consent. ISBN: 978-1-5272-4220-3 Publications manager: Wendy Burns Copy editor and proofreader: Jenny Gwynne Design: Design & Print Solutions, University of York Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism Contents Preface 7 Ian Davies, Mark Evans, Márta Fülöp, Dina Kiwan, Andrew Peterson and Jasmine B.-Y. Sim Acknowledgements 9 Ian Davies, Mark Evans, Márta Fülöp, Dina Kiwan, Andrew Peterson and Jasmine B.-Y. Sim 1 Pedagogical considerations for youth engagement and activism: Educational approaches and practices 12 Mark Evans, Ian Davies, Márta Fülöp, Dina Kiwan, Andrew Peterson and Jasmine B.-Y. Sim 2 Educating for youth activism in Australia 22 Andrew Peterson 2.1 Justice Citizens 26 Keith Heggart 2.2 Richmond Emerging Aboriginal Leadership (REAL) program 27 Lucas Walsh 3 Educating for civic engagement in schools in Canada: A brief overview 28 Mark Evans, Rosemary Evans and Angela Vemic 3.1 Education for Social Innovation: Inquiries into global citizenship, environmental stewardship and student voice 32 Shirley Chan, Tim Sullivan, Janis Castle Jones and Abhi Arulanantham 3.2 Maximum City 34 Josh Fullan 3.3 Youth Reconciliation Initiative, Canadian Roots Exchange 35 Saima Butt 4 England: Policy and practice for understanding and engagement 36 Ian Davies 4.1 Amnesty International youth group 41 Matthew Davies 4.2 Engaging with the EU referendum 42 Roxanne Fearns 4.3 Machakos Youth for Sustainable Development 43 Purna Kumar Shrestha 5 Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism 5 Teaching citizenship in Hungary 44 Márta Fülöp 5.1 Ukids – a social entrepreneurship programme for kids 47 Mária Hercz 5.2 The Radnóti School model of citizenship education 48 János Győri 5.3 Democratic learning spaces for young people 50 Rita Galambos 6 Formal and informal civic learning in Lebanon 52 Dina Kiwan 6.1 Developing young historians: Teaching historical thinking 55 Maha Shuayb, Nayla Hamadeh and Bassel Akar 6.2 Learning practice: Bringing education to informal settlements 56 Rabih Shibli 7 Citizenship pedagogical practices in Singapore: An overview 58 Jasmine B.-Y. Sim 7.1 Community for Advocacy and Political Education (CAPE) 62 Daryl Yang 7.2 The Inter-University LGBT Network (IULN) 63 Rachel Yeo 7.3 Raffles Girls’ School Model United Nations 64 Aliah Shariff 8 Pedagogical considerations for civic engagement teaching and learning: Parting summary comments and reflections 66 Mark Evans, Ian Davies, Márta Fülöp, Dina Kiwan, Andrew Peterson and Jasmine B.-Y. Sim Annotated list of online resources 70 Serhiy Kovalchuk and Maria Vamvalis 6 Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism Preface ‘Youth activism, engagement nationally and internationally, to a purpose of education is to help wide variety of sites. Discussions learners understand the society and the development of were created through the in which they live and develop the new civic learning spaces’ organization of seminars, public skills to take part in it and then, was a project funded by events and academic conferences. when they do engage, that process We wanted to understand things would be educational. the Leverhulme Trust better ourselves and to share and developed by an our findings. We aimed to bring Our ideas about education were people together so that we could not restricted to narrowly framed international network of learn and there was the possibility contexts. We were alert to the researchers. The project that more work could take place wide range of characterizations of took place between 2016 in the future. Specifically for this publication, we want to showcase and 2019. the ideas and suggestions of those who are working with young Overview people. Many are doing excellent work to promote understanding We explored key ideas and of the contemporary world and issues about the ways in which develop the skills to take part in young people participate in a democratic pluralistic world. society and what implications We hope that this publication that has for education. Our work will guide, stimulate, provoke was generously funded from and energize people to begin a Leverhulme Trust Network and continue their own work Grant. The project web pages, to maximize the possibilities of and details of other publications making the world a better place from the project, may be seen at: through education. https://www.york.ac.uk/education/ research/cresj/researchthemes/ citizenship-education/ Key ideas and issues leverhulmeyouthactivism/ Our work was stimulated principally by a desire to explore Throughout the project, we were the connections and disjunctions committed to thinking carefully between education and activism. in ways that could be practically We were aware of the possibility of useful to educators. Networking a vicious circle between education was the principal means by which and engagement. In other words, we explored key issues. We read young minds could be corrupted by widely, made full use of electronic those in schools who have a narrow media to benefit from the advice political agenda and, beyond of people in many parts of the schools, by activists who wish only world, and focused on the six to secure political or economic countries where project members advantage. Of course, we wished to have knowledge, experience explore, without naivety, the very and expertise: Australia, Canada, real possibility of a virtuous circle: England, Hungary, Lebanon and the recognition that the primary Singapore. Visits were made, 7 Taking action for change: Educating for youth civic engagement and activism engagement. For some, ‘activism’ how education could be for that we want, or whether we are means ‘radical’ action, but we engagement; and we wanted to content to leave what people learn wished to explore a variety of know if we could develop education to the dominant forces in society. perspectives. We have always and engagement through a Ultimately, this project concludes wanted to avoid unhelpfully narrow dynamic approach involving action with something that is in line conceptions of what counts as on many different sites and by with official statements by many education. We see education as many different types of people. policy-makers and professionals being more than schooling. In some Our conclusion is that there is a but, if carried through, has the of our investigations, school was strong and potentially positive potential to be transformative. We significantly less important than relationship between education recommend that young people and other initiatives. Our project was and engagement. We are always – those with whom they work should determinedly aware of education formally and in other ways – think about what sort of education taking place in a wide variety of educating about, for and through is necessary for what sort of regions. We looked beyond as well engagement. As people engage engagement, and how best that as within national boundaries. (and engage they must in their might be achieved. We offer this everyday lives) then they will learn. publication as one of the means by We wanted to know more about The choice that faces us is whether which we can start to work towards education and engagement; we we wish to think about and then the achievement of this direction. wanted to know more about prepare the forms of education A civic educators’ resource In this Resource for educators we outline our thinking about civic education and activism in Chapters 1 and 8. We reflect in those first and last chapters of this publication on the work that has been done by ourselves and others to identify key issues and challenges.