Political Science Education as Participatory Research & Civic Empowerment

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Over several decades, we have witnessed very significant changes in the way citizens do politics. Youth civic and political engagement has become more focused on issues that have meaning for young people’s everyday lives rather than long-term commitment to political organisations. However, there are huge inequalities of participation between young people in higher education and non-college-bound youth. As political scientists, we must reflect upon how these changes and inequalities shape our professional practice, the young people we work with, and broader society. For example, the changes in youth participation are mirrored by an increased focus on experiential learning and reaching out beyond academic boundaries to young people from traditionally marginalized and minoritized groups. And, by fostering participatory research with young people we can contribute to a more inclusive and future-oriented (‘sustainable’) public policy. This panel highlights the importance of reimagining political science through experiential learning and participatory research with a focus on how this can work regarding the existential threats of climate change and degradation of the natural environment. The first paper, by Hayward, McMeeking, Ratuva, Prendergast and Crichton-Hill, looks at how we can support young citizens facing chaotic climate futures. It explores the potential of intergenerational story-telling methods or pūrākau to support the leadership capability of Indigenous Māori and Pacific young people aged 10 to 14 years in communities at high risk of flooding in Ōtuatahi/Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand. By paying attention to ideas of tā (or time) and vā (or space and relationships) storytelling can help scaffold Indigenous young people’s confidence and skills for collective action. The second paper, by Flanagan, Gally and Pykett examines civic environmental science (CES) as a tool for preparing younger generations to identify, analyse and act on environmental conditions in their communities. The paper presents the results of a decade-long study of 10-18 year-old students’ (majority Black and Latinx) participation in CES projects. The research details students’ collaborations with teachers and community partners to identify, collect scientific (air or water quality) and civic (local government policies, commissions, bonds) data, and generate a “call to action” to decision makers and the broader public. The final paper, by Sloam explores the role that civic authorities can play in educating young people form disadvantaged background to participate in the shaping of environmental policy. Through the concept of ‘civic mentoring’, the paper investigates the effectiveness of the Mayor of London’s Peer Outreach team in developing the democratic skills of young Peer Outreach Workers (aged 16 to 25), enabling and empowering them to reaching out to other young Londoners, and providing pathways for them to interact with policy-makers in the Greater London Authority, to generate a more sustainable public policy. The papers, thus, provide evidence of how young people can recapture a sense of agency in climate action through the reimagining of political science education. They also illustrate the benefits this can bring to teaching, research and public policy, and to the civic and political participation of traditionally marginalised groups of young people.

Sub Unit

• Division 10: Political Science Education

Individual Presentations

• New Methods in Political Science to Support Indigenous Youth Voices - Bronwyn M. Hayward, University of Canterbury; Steve Ratuva, University of Auckland; Kate Prendergast, University of Canterbury

• High-School Students’ “Calls to Action” on Environmental Issues - Constance Flanagan; Erin Gallay, University of Michigan; Alisa Pykett, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• How Political Science Education Can Support Meaningful Contact with Policymakers - James Sloam, University of London, Royal Holloway

Chair

• James Sloam University of London, Royal Holloway