Comparing Understandings of Civic Engagement across Countries through Drawings

• In Event: Poster Session: Political Science Education; Information Technology and Politics & Politics Literature, and Film
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Political Science Education

Abstract

In this paper investigate perceptions of civic engagement among two groups of university students in Ireland and Egypt. While both countries are very different, we selected these students as they are all undertaking the same degree – the Dublin Institute of Technology’s 4 year BSc in Business and Management – receiving the same education. We used freehand drawing to create a learning environment in the classrooms in Dublin and Alexandria wherein these students could seek to develop meaningful associations with civic engagement. The drawings examined here, produced by these two class groups, provide insights into how young adults in Ireland and Egypt perceive their societies and their places within them, and thus communicate their understanding of civic engagement. Freehand drawing, in bypassing cognitive verbal processing routes, leads students to produce clearer and more holistic images. It allows them to put into visuals a level of comprehension that is sometimes difficult for them to articulate with words. This use of the visual method can help students to identify the tacit knowledge that they already possess.

Authors

• John W. Hogan, Technological University Dublin

• Sharon Mary Feeney, Dublin Institute of Technology