Education for youth civic and political activism in Australia

Surveying and synthesizing existing theoretical and empirical literature, this chapter examines education for youth civic and political action in Australia. Recognizing the concern of developing greater levels of active citizenship is a core goal of education and youth policy in Australia, the chapter examines various central issues that impact on and shape the civic and political activism of young Australians. While not ignoring policy discourses and provisions, the chapter takes as its main focus a range of empirical studies – predominantly published over the last 10 years – which explore how young people’s civic and political activism is interpreted, enacted, and experienced in practice. As such, the chapter analyzes several key considerations regarding educating for youth civic and political action in Australia: the changing patterns of youth participation, barriers to participation for disadvantaged and marginalized youth, why youth participate, the role and use of new technologies, and key tenets of effective practice. In the conclusion, the main arguments are summarized, and some areas for further research are identified.