Understanding politics helps kids become active citizens
- Posted by Marianne Stenger |
- Thursday 3 May 2018, 11:06 AM (EST)
Although surveys show the majority of young Australians are passionate about political issues, figures from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) show that in 2016, the 18- to 24-year-old demographic had the worst numbers on voter enrolment.
In fact, nearly half of all 18-year-olds, which amounts to 350,000 young people, did not enrol to vote.
So what’s to blame for this lack of follow through? One of the biggest issues is that politics isn’t always adequately covered in school, which means that by the time young people reach voting age, they often lack the understanding necessary to participate in democracy in a meaningful way.
This doesn’t mean they don’t care, however. According to a report from the National Assessment Program for Civics and Citizenship (NAP-CC), which measures students’ knowledge about subjects such as Australian government, judiciary and democratic processes, young people tend to have strong opinions on issues in the political debate.
According to the report, less than 50 percent of Year 10 students in Australia achieved the “proficient” standard. Many did, however, express an interest in learning more about the Australian system and said they wished they could have done a compulsory set of classes on the subject.
Engaged students are more likely to vote
Research from the University of Edinburgh found that students who engaged in discussions about political issues in the classroom were significantly more likely to vote and be engaged with politics in a variety of different ways. Students who had taken a school course on politics and society were also less likely to find politics difficult to understand.
Study co-author Dr Jan Eichhorn from the University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science points out that good political education in schools is what will help the next generation of young people understand the relevance of politics and engage in it.
“But we need to ensure that all young people can discuss political issues in a qualified way in classroom settings,” he said. “It can't be left to chance, because of where they live, whether they are supported in their first engagement with politics.”
So given the importance of introducing kids and young people to democracy in the classroom, what can we do to engage kids in politics from an early age? Here are a few ideas.
1. Identify the issues kids care about
In addition to their lack of understanding about politics, another reason many young people choose not to vote or engage with politics is that they feel the decisions made in parliament don’t affect them and struggle to see how their vote will make a difference.
So the first step towards sparking young people’s interest in politics is identifying the issues that matter to them. What are the things that are relevant to them and affect their everyday lives? Is it climate change? Affordable housing and living costs? Tuition fees for university?
2. Simplify the issues
The University of Edinburgh study found that 16- and 17-year-olds who were better informed about politics were more likely to take part in other forms of non-electoral and political engagement, such as petitioning or writing a letter to a Member of Parliament.
So in order to get kids and young people involved in politics, it’s important to help them understand complicated issues by breaking them down into age-appropriate explanations. This will also enable them to see both sides of a debate and how their vote could make a difference.
3. Engage them online
Conventional forms of engagement like voting in an election should be the end goal, but engaging young people through a medium they are already familiar with is a great place to start.
So encourage your students to follow advocacy groups online and engage with campaigns by commenting on social media platforms. Although these actions may not have the most far-reaching impact, they are still legitimate forms of political participation and can be a good starting point for young people who have never been involved in politics or social movements.
4. Hold a mock referendum or election
If you want to help your students see firsthand how the election process works, why not hold a mock referendum or election in the classroom? An exercise like this can teach students about everything from selecting candidates and creating a campaign to debating and voting.
5. Encourage them to take action
Although getting involved online is a great start, we should also be encouraging kids and young people to take actionable steps that will help them affect real change.
This could be anything from identifying the political parties that represent their views, creating a petition or taking part in a peaceful street protest. The most important thing is for kids to understand that there are things they can do to make a difference and that their voice and vote does matter.
Looking for useful educational resources to help kids understand the basics? Check out our Australian Parliament digibook.
08 May 2018, 04:38 PM (EST)
Fantastic article: I have been teaching Democracy, Citizenship and Rights as a unit in the MARC Van (Mobile Area Resource Centre) for all of term one with some great results. It has been satisfying to drum home the importance of this issue.
10 May 2018, 09:16 PM (EST)
I don’t understand
04 June 2018, 06:54 AM (EST)