Marginalized Youth and Civic Engagement: Insights Offered by Urban Youth on Community, Responsibility, and Citizenship

• In Event: Critical Civics and Citizenship Education

Abstract

Urban marginalized youth (young people of color between the ages 14 - 21) have a lot to say about community, respect, and citizenship. I used a multimethod approach, combining quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (focus groups) studies, to provide a more nuanced and complex picture of urban youth and civic engagement than previous studies have done. A key finding is that marginalized young people are deeply committed to their communities, demanding and giving of respect, and aware of ulterior motives and hidden agendas behind research. Marginalized youth were eager to talk with an adult researcher who took the time to allay their concerns. Future research would gain by including young people of color as collaborators in studies of civic engagement.

Author

• Konstantine Kyriacopoulos, University of North Carolina - Wilmington