Adults must be ready to listen and to give equal consideration to young people's view points. Youth-adult partnership must be cultivated. We need to support the development of these efforts in emerging democratic nations. Measures to increase youth civic engagement need to be taken in education in both public and private sectors, and by leaders in educational technologies. The values and skills of teamwork and civil activity should be fostered in youth in their childhood and nurtured during adolescence through programs that encourage collective youth activity and offer young people real opportunities to change real societal situations, with close-by, supportive adults as role models.
More research is needed on what is occurring in classrooms that focus on civic-related subjects.
We need to look at new ways in which schooling can contribute to citizenship and incorporate a review of curriculum, textbooks, opportunities to investigate and discuss political issues, and school-based activities. The preparation of programs for youth for the practice of citizenship should be given high priority for schools, in collaboration with parents and their communities. For those who go on to university, there should be a committed faculty, a supportive administration, good community connections, and strong commitments to educating and encouraging students to vote. Especially, as students are not in their home community, and can easily be deterred from voting. This issue of Lifelines was prepared for the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University by Isabel Storey, senior communications consultant, Glen Peck, Christine Moy, and Jane Comaroff, with funds from the Mittlemann Family Endowment .