Citizenship Attitudes in Times of Change: Adolescents' Perceptions of ‘Good’ Citizenship Over Time

Earlier worries about declining citizen engagement were met with optimism about an expansion of citizenship norms and behavioral repertoires. However, recent challenges to democratic societies, including immigration, climate change, and populism, have sparked concerns about a backsliding of participatory citizenship. This analysis examines Australian adolescents’ citizenship norms over time and associations of citizenship norms with civic engagement and attitudes towards diverse populations. The analysis aims to address the research questions: What are the patterns of adolescents’ citizenship norms in Australia? How do these norms differ in early and middle adolescence? How have these norms patterns changed over the past decade? And what are the associations with civic attitudes and engagement? We examine these questions using large-scale representative data from primary and secondary school students in Australia gathered triennially over more than a decade. The data were collected through stratified random sampling, with schools randomly sampled in the first stage and students sampled in the second stage. Multilevel latent class analysis, with students nested in schools, determines the patterns of citizenship norms in both cohorts of students. Multiple group analysis compares the patterns between cohorts and across time, and multinomial and linear regression models determine the multilevel factors related to citizenship norms and how the norms patterns are related to civic engagement and attitudes toward diversity in both cohorts. The findings demonstrate how adolescents’ citizenship norms have changed over the past decade in Australia, offering implications on democratic citizenship and civic education more broadly, including on the potential impact of a nationwide civics and citizenship curriculum. The findings allow for evidence-based recommendations for education stakeholders and policymakers striving to promote democratic citizenship and youth civic engagement.