Pugh, Carole (2026) Enablers and barriers to equipping young people for political socialisation in youth work In England. In: 27th Annual CiCea International Conference 2026: Building Young People's Civic Journeys: Strengthening Democracies through Citizenship Education., 28-30th May 2026, University of Porto.

Slideshow Cicea May 26 Enablers and barriers to equipping young people for political socialisation in youth work In England.pptx - Accepted Version Download (12MB)

Abstract

Youth work in the UK engages approximately 4.4 million young people annually, yet its contribution to political socialisation remains overlooked in English policy and research, which emphasises formal citizenship education within schools. This neglect persists despite substantial international evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of experiential education in shaping young people’s political development. Consequently, contemporary conceptualisations of lived citizenship have not been applied to youth work. Nor has youth work considered how newer theorisations of political socialisation, could reframe discussions about political and citizenship education.

This interdisciplinary study investigated how youth work supported political socialisation among young people aged 10-24 across four youth projects in a small northern city in England 2020-22. Adopting a constructivist, mixed methods design the research included focus groups with 89 young people and 21 youth workers alongside participant observation of 56 youth work sessions.

Drawing on young people’s own conceptualisations the study developed a model that maps youth work’s capacity to foster political citizenship. Findings demonstrated that youth work plays in significant role supporting political socialisation. However, this potential was constrained by barriers including uncertainty about youth work’s remit, limited practitioner confidence about discussing citizenship and political topics and perceptions that conversations about protest were prohibited. The study identified several enablers that could strengthen youth work’s contribution: clearer national policy that affirms youth works role in political socialisation, enhanced training to increase youth workers knowledge and confidence in addressing politics and citizenship; the development of resources to support discussions with young people and clearer guidance about if and how protest can be explored. The study concludes that policy efforts aimed at enhancing young people’s democratic participation must recognise and support the experiential and informal approaches embedded in youth work, ensuring that youth work’s capacity to equip young people for political citizenship can be more fully realised.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Status:	Published
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) L Education > L Education (General)
School/Department:	School of Education, Language and Psychology
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/15236

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