Coming Democratic Citizens ꟷ A Proposition

This paper investigates young people’s political awareness and learning. By the incorporation of theories of political awareness in the analytical approach, dynamic patterns of political awareness among Scandinavian upper secondary students is investigated: How and why does political awareness develop among adolescents? Research in this area has traditionally been interested in either the political awareness of youth, when it comes to the actions of the younger electorate, or the sources of influence on the youth. However, there has not been interest in the various processes initiating the political engagement and political development. A comprehensive design is conceptualized, in order to prepare the analysis for empirical investigations of complex political and developmental processes.