The changing nature of youth citizenship
Faculty of Education senior lecturer Dr Bronwyn Wood begins her Fast-Start Marsden Fund research this year, looking at the changing nature of youth citizenship in New Zealand.
Dr Wood will examine how young people living in New Zealand’s most diverse communities navigate daily encounters with ‘difference’, forge their citizen identities and participate in civic life.
“The broad idea of civic participation is that everyone should feel they are entitled to being involved in a democratic process. However, with globalisation, we don’t just have young people who only affiliate to one nation—they affiliate to many and in different ways. Some may not be tied to their nation state but might feel they are a citizen of many nations—or a citizen of none.
“New Zealand has an eclectic mix of people and if those people aren’t engaging democratically because they don’t feel like a citizen, then the people in power aren’t representing those people. It’s a very big issue for democracy to ensure that voices are heard, people feel valued and that they belong.”
Dr Wood will conduct interviews, surveys, and use other interactive tools to understand the viewpoints of 14-18 year olds at schools in ‘superdiverse’ communities. Superdiversity is a sociological term for communities with extremely high population diversity levels. Dr Wood aims to engage with three Auckland schools and one Wellington school.
“I’m curious as to what I will find out. In New Zealand, we assume that everyone arrives here and becomes a New Zealander. I think there will be some different stories there.
“My biggest motivation is to understand what citizenship in our changing world means to young people, and what factors make them feel that they do or don’t want to engage with civic participation.”
Dr Wood will also use her research to develop a quantitative survey tool which she wants to use in other superdiverse cities such as Toronto, Vancouver and London.
“This tool will allow international comparison as to what it means to be a citizen in these different contexts. The tool will provide a platform to develop more research.”