From the point of view of research, the Adoloscents' political and civic engagement is a complex phenomenom, as it is influenced by various socio-cultural and psychological factors of an individual. Research in this area is important for various reasons and is beneficial for both adolescents and society itself. Civic participation of adolescents promotes the development of knowledge and ethics, and at the same time improves democratic standards in a given society. In my master's research, I studied the factors of contexts (families, peer groups, schools and local environments) that influence the formation of civic competencies and determine the intention for future civic and political engagement and participation. The central goal of my research was to examine whether factors of past experience in different contexts and perceived support of important others have a significant impact on the intention for future civic and political participation and on the perception of civic competences (internal political eficacy). The research was conducted on a sample of 491 Slovenian students, 335 of them were students in a gymnasium educational program and 156 were students of secondary vocational schools. For the purpose of studying the phenomenon, I designed the Questionnaire of civic and political participation of young people, which contains 16 scales, that are structured into following areas: perceived support fot participation; past experience with participation; intention for future participation; perception of civic competencies and awareness of current social conditions. The results showed that variables of past experiences had a greater effect on the presence of civic competencies and on the intention for future civic and political participation compared to the variables of perceived support of significant others. Predictors that have the greatest impact on the intention for future participation and the perception of civic competences are: past discussions with parents and peers on socio-political topics; opportunities for students to participate in class and school in the processes of co-decision-making; actual experiences with civic and political participation; and perceiving the local environment as a space that enables change. Socio-demographic variables have a smaller effect on the mentioned criteria variables, however boys and gymnasium students expressed that they are more likely to participate in future elections and girls are more likely to participate in social participation in the future. In the context of promoting the socio-political participation of adolescents, the experience of participating in various forms of group activities plays an imporatnt role. At the same time it is important that these activities are properly led by an inclusive and open-minded mentor who involves adolescnets in all steps of planning and implementation of relevant activities.
|
