3 - Exploring Adolescent Altruism: British Young People's Involvement in Voluntary Work and Campaigning

Summary

What is citizenship? A new youth survey finds a surprising range of views about what it means to be a citizen today

(The Times, June 12, 1994)

Today's youth are waving goodbye to party politics – but that doesn't mean they don't care about tomorrow

(The Independent, January 25, 1995)

Alert sounds on youth volunteer programmes: Community service schemes are causing unease

(Times Educational Supplement, May 12, 1995)

Young and adrift in the moral maze – Britain's youth are following a new self-regulated moral agenda

(The Observer, October 9, 1994)

Fears about work rekindle youth's spirit of rebellion: Today's youth see elders’ world as failing them

(The Independent, March 24, 1995)

Rights and wrongs: Teenagers disagree about the balance of rights and responsibilities in society

(The Observer, June 11, 1993)

The world's in their hands – but will they shape it?

(The Independent, January 25, 1995)

As these newspaper headlines from the last few years demonstrate, much of the debate concerning British young people today involves issues such as participation, morals, community activities, citizenship, caring, politics, and values. This chapter aims to explore some of these issues further, focusing on British young people's involvement in voluntary and campaigning activities.

The chapter will be structured as follows: First, a brief account will be given of the historical and cultural context of young people's community involvement in the United Kingdom. Second, research being undertaken by the authors, which is looking at the involvement of 14- to 16-yearolds (N= 1,165) in voluntary activities and campaigning, will be described. Third, some general comments will be made about the political, policy, and social implications of youth engagement and participation.