This article focuses on how Year 11 secondary students view themselves as political beings, voice political ideas, and think critically about political participation. The research was motivated by the public representation of young citizens disengaged from political processes such as voting, and the authors’ perception of a gap in students’ political ideas that apply ...

How might social-studies teachers enact critical forms of citizenship education in classrooms and what pedagogies support this? This question is explored in relation to literature about critical citizenship and critical literacy. Also, possibilities for practice are considered and two approaches for critical literacy in social studies are presented: a) using critical questions to engage ...

This article explores how teachers and students can make the most of citizenship learning opportunities when they visit cultural institutions such as museums, galleries, and memorial parks. It shares insights from 150 Years: 150 Buses, a project that supported school groups to visit two or more of Wellington’s nationally significant institutions in 2015. Taking ...

Voter participation by young people has been in long-term decline in New Zealand. Many do not understand what elected representatives do, and assume that politics does not affect them. Voter advice applications (VAAs) are effective design-led tools for addressing these issues by providing game-like experiences that help voters compare their values with the positions ...

Education for sustainable citizenship is vital if we are to strengthen democratic processes and address complex, inescapable and seemingly insolvable “wicked problems”. For the past 4 years, Environment Canterbury’s Youth Engagement team has joined with relevant partners to facilitate 3–6 day experiential education residential hui for 14–15 year olds. Participants are immersed in the issues ...

Sir Peter Jackson said that New Zealand is not a small country but a large village. Being a villager requires an active form of citizenship that involves collaboration, contribution, interdependence, and reciprocity. These traits are particularly important for New Zealand with its reliance on volunteers, generation after generation, to provide essential services through school boards ...

In a post-quake city with lots of empty spaces and vacant buildings, the small charitable trust Gap Filler has inspired young people to participate, contribute and fill these sites with temporary projects and activities to inspire a new Ōtautahi Christchurch.

UN Youth is a youth-for-youth charitable civics education organisation that operates throughout the country. The organisation’s goal is to equip young people with the skills and knowledge necessary to become informed, engaged, and critical New Zealanders who can become global citizens. For 16 years, UN Youth has primarily achieved this through holding Model United Nations events to ...

When our Pacific grandparents, parents and families migrated to Aotearoa they journeyed here for a better life and future for us. Our generation of Pacific youth leaders have many more opportunities, with one of them being able to fully engage with society, and to contribute to decision making, and governance. The Pacific Youth Leadership and Transformation ...

How could tools such as Ask Away be used to give young people democratic experiences that make participation worthwhile?