Supporting materials for the Lenten study as it appears in the January/February and March/April 2005 issues of The Upper Room magazine. Each session is designed for an hour of group time. The material on this website supplements the sessions described in pages 70-75 of the regular-print edition of the magazine.

This material is meant to enrich and add to the printed study that appears in the magazine. It contains additional material or alternate activities that may be used in the activity time. Each week, participants in this Lenten study have four choices of activities.

The first one is detailed in the pages of the January-February issue of The Upper Room. The other three activities are outlined here. You may wish to familiarize yourself and your congregation with the four options as described below and select all or some of these offerings for your church.

Link : The Upper Room – Lenten Study Resources

Six studies are offered to build up those who seek to experience and share their experiences of Jesus Christ. Ideally, these sessions should be used in groups to encourage the formation of people as members of the Body of Christ.

As people “build one another up in love” they will experience Jesus Christ in new ways.

As many communities undertake special times of Bible Study during Lent, these six studies have been tailored for that purpose. If a congregation is only doing studies for four weeks then it is suggested that studies 1,2,5 & 6 be used. Studies 3 & 4 could be done after Lent. However, they could all be done later than Easter if that suited the local context.

At the time of writing, we have been shaken by the news of the Asian Tsunami. This has been taken into account amongst the worship and response suggestions. There is a suggested donation: $5 per copy made, contact The UCA Synod of NSW. Contact: http://nsw.uca.org.au/boe/

Link : Must Have Experience – 6 Bible Studies about the experience of Jesus Christ

These resources are offered to Uniting Church congregations in Queensland for study and reflection during Lent or at some other time during the year. The sessions link some biblical texts, passages from the Uniting Church Basis of Union and other writings, with a series of questions designed to focus the participants on their own and other’s experiences of Jesus in the time leading up to Easter.

Each person’s experience of Jesus is unique and different, and together the biblical story and our stories build up a tapestry of how Jesus meets and speaks to people in our church and community. These small group sessions emphasise that Jesus brings change to people’s lives, heals people’s hurts, gives freedom to those who feel trapped, brings forgiveness to those who feel guilty, and gives a future to those who feel hopeless.

There are some underlying assumptions in these resources about how God speaks to us. The Basis of Union acknowledges ‘that the Church has received the books of the Old and New Testaments as unique prophetic and apostolic testimony, in which it hears the Word of God and by which its faith and obedience are nourished and regulated’.

It also refers to foundational documents and God’s continuing revelation to the church. The Basis of Union is itself a foundational document for the Uniting Church. We are indeed people on the way, but not without guidance.

Link : Experiences of Jesus – 5 bible studies for groups (pdf)

Link : UCA, Queensland Synod

The change-maker bible study series produced by SU and Tear explores God’s call to justice and peace, exploring issues of hunger, war, discipleship, poverty and injustice in the bible and asking how we, as christians can choose to respond.

I’ve found this series to be highly under-rated, the issues and the biblical and prayerful reflection that each of the guides offer are of high quality and allow groups to converse about world issues in a safe way.

The study themes are: – Awake to the World – Seeing and Praying – Eyes Wide Open – Seeing Faith at Work Prophetic, challenging, educational and live changing these studies will challenge your young people to pray and reflect on what it means to be a Christian in a global way.

But don’t trust me, here’s what others have said:

Rev Time Costello, (Formerly President of Baptist Union of Australia): “ChangeMakers! is an excellent and prophetic series of studies, tackling difficult questions from life, society and global realities. It allows the Bible to challenge our values and speak powerfully to our lifestyles. Indeed, it induces change! I look forward to using this material extensively in groups.”

Margaret Smith, Member of the Board of Tearfund (UK): “Do not embark on these studies if you wish your life to remain the same. You will meet the world’s poor. You will read God’s Word to those of use who are rich and discover how the two, rich and poor, can impact upon each other. I thoroughly recommend you take the risk!”

These studies were compiled by Steve Bradbury and Allan Harkness. – Steve Bradbury is the National Director of TEAR Australia. – Allan Harkness is currently lecturing at Trinity Theological College in Singapore.

Link : Change Makers

Link : Tear Australia

Water for the Journey by Craig Mitchell

Craig Mitchell wrote this study in 2001, originally as a lenten study to prepare people for worship during the lenten period. I remember using this a few years ago and how useful the process that the study uses was, and still is for bible study.

The process involves three steps, My Story (focusing on myself), God’s Story (focus on the bible) and Our Story (focus on the world). The studies are no longer available in printed form, however he has just released them on his blog for download in pdf format.

Water is an essential part of our daily lives. We use it for drinking, bathing,washing, cooking, watering gardens and crops, and more. Water is also one of the biblical symbols for the Holy Spirit – cleansing us, filling us, refreshing us.

God’s presence in our lives is like fresh water. These studies explore God’s call to us to travel to new life and a hope-filled future. The water represents the gracious presence of God which guides, sustains and refreshes us. Our God who calls is always a God who equips us for the journey ahead.

The studies will allow people to explore what it means to be the people of God today – in our homes, in our towns, in our world. Through these studies you are invited to journey with the people of Israel in the Old Testament, and to journey with Jesus in John’s Gospel.

As we listen for God’s call, we are invited to reflect on the journey of our own lives, and to discover God’s purpose for our lives in a new way. As we look at what it means to journey with God, will will also ask what it means for us to help others discover Jesus Christ as the source of life-giving water.

You are invited to look at where youhave come from as a church and to ask questions about where you are heading together. May this be a great time of listening to God’s Spirit, looking at the needs in our towns, and encouraging each other’s gifts for ministry.

Link : Water For The Journey (pdf file)

Link : Craig Mitchell”s Blog

This is an electronic resource which is developed to assist children’s ministry leaders throughout the Parramatta-Nepean Presbytery of the Uniting Church in Australia. It is designed to draw together a number of other resources, to make it easier for those preparing programs for children each week. You can access this via email and questions or comments can be made so that the resource can be updated. Patterns for craft can be made available on request.

This resource follows the Common Lectionary although some weeks may vary to fit in with school terms and significant services. we’ll include all the current volumes of the resource here for you to access and download.

It has a general outline, some background material, and then material specific to Pre-school, Infants and Primary aged children. We have tried to follow themes, to identify a number of resources, and provide a few examples for each week.  This is NOT exhaustive but may kick start your own ideas.

We encourage you to examine the Seasons of the Spirit resource and use wherever possible, however this may not be practical in a number of congregations.

Each lesson usually follows the general outline, but as time varies in each congregation or group, feel free to vary to meet your needs. This is very loose structure designed to assist you. However, each leader knows the children and the context so use as best suits you and your group.

GENERAL OUTLINE:

1. WELCOME: (This is a gathering and settling time)
2. SHARING: (This may pick up birthdays, special news etc)
3. SONGS: (Some kids like to sing, others like to listen)
4. READING: (From a version of the Bible that uses language the kids can understand)
5. STORY:
6. GAME/CRAFT:
7. CARING/PRAYER:
8. FINISH/BLESSING:

NB If you find this resource helpful please let your church council know who is assisting you through this resource and contact Christine to let her know what you think.

Please feel free to contact Christine at cbaykel@aol.com.au for any assistance or clarification of resources.

Rev Christine Bayliss Kelly
Parramatta-Nepean Children,
Youth and Family Ministry Officer
:

email.  cbaykel@aol.com.au

Download “Children’s Church Ideas”

Revolve

Revolve was a youth research paper that was written by Dave Fagg and Vivianne Gloz while they were working with YFC. Revolve explored many issues that are still relevant to Australian youth today. Editions were produced quarterly and covered a number of issues including indigenous youth, religion, technology and sexuality.

I recently asked Dave Fagg and Vivianne Gloz if they’d be ok with me uploading them all to this site because the original documents were no longer online, I’d like to thank Dave and Vivianne for their hard work and research into these areas of Youth Work, Culture, Ministry and Participation.

Dave’s original editions can be sourced from his own website here, but I’ve included them all in this post. He’s also written a lot of other material that can be sourced from his website.

Vivianne Gloz is now working as the the Eastern Regional Co-ordinator of the Youth Referral Independent Person program, employed by CMYI and hosted by ECLC based in Box Hill.

Generation Y

“Generation Y”;, “The Millennials” and the “Echo Boomers” are terms referring to young people born roughly between 1980 and 2000. As with any description of a generation, stereotypes and generalisations about a group of people do no justice to the group in consideration. Cautious about contributing to the array of generalisations about today’s young people, this issue describes general trends and characteristics that can be correlated to the experiences of the particular group of young people that Youth for Christ Australia is wanting to reach.

Download: Generation Y, Revolve 1, March 2003 (pdf)

Young People Experiencing Risk

Young people experiencing risk include those who are presently at risk of harm. They may be involved in, or exposed to drug use, crime, homelessness, mental illness, unemployment, suicide/self-harm, early school leaving, truancy, abuse and/or neglect. This group of young people make up a large proportion of the young people YFC work with. This issue of Revolve will present various statistics regarding key issues for young people experiencing risk. It will also describe good practice program principles as highlighted in a recent study by the Australian Institute of Criminology regarding sport, physical activity and anti-social behaviour.

Download: Young People Experiencing Risk, Revolve 02, July 2003 (pdf)

Technology

This issue of Revolve focuses on major trends in young people’s use of technology and possibilities for using technology for ministry. Technology is undeniably a major part of many young people’s experiences. Technology is “changing the macroworlds that shape adolescents’ lives, the microworlds that many youth live in,” and the life that many young people aspire to (Larson, 2002). It’s also changing the way young people relate.

Download: Technology, Revolve 03, September 2003 (pdf)

Sexuality

Sexuality and sexual health is a prominent issue for young people. Adolescence is the time when young people are forming their identities, including their sexual identity, and is a time for exploring, and experimenting with sex. This issue of Revolve will discuss aspects of young people’s sexuality and sexual health and propose approaches to practice that ensure the overall health and well-being of young people.

Download: Young People, sexuality and Sexual Health, Revolve 04, December 2003 (pdf)

Youth Participation

Youth participation is about giving young people the opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns on issues that are important to them or affect their lives, listening to what they have to say and involving them in decision-making. Youth participation is currently a significant issue in youth work practice in Australia and around the world. This issue of Revolve will discuss youth participation and its relationship to Christian youth work, as well as provide frameworks and approaches to youth participation for further consideration.

Download: Youth Participation, Revolve 05, March 2004 (pdf)

Mental Health

It is the aim of this issue of Revolve to not only highlight the prevalence of mental illness amongst young people in Australia, but also to stimulate discussion around how Christian youth workers might respond to young people presenting with mental health issues, and how we can develop programs that assist in the prevention and early intervention of mental illness among young people.

Download: Responding to Mental Health Issues Amongst Young People, Revolve 06, June 2004 (pdf)

Rural Youth

Rural young people include those who are living in regional and remote areas of Australia. The experiences for young people living in rural Australia are quite different to those of urban young people. Research published recently describes the aspirations of young people in regional areas. It details the factors in rural life that impact on rural young people’s aspirations and the strategies that may be applied to sustain and enhance these young people’s aspirations. This issue of Revolve will discuss these findings and their relevance to YFC Australia and Christian Youth Workers.

Download: Influencing the Lives of Young People, Revolve 07, September 2004 (pdf)

Indigenous Youth

This edition of Revolve aims to provide information about some of the issues of working with Indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) young people. It will present an analysis of the context of Indigenous young people’s lives, and how YFC Australia and Christian youth workers can respond, particularly through adjusting our way of thinking. It is hoped that this discussion will challenge some of our ambivalence about working with Indigenous young people.

Download: Anti-Oppresive Work with Indigenous Young People, Revolve 08, December 2004 (pdf)

Multiculturalism

For some, multiculturalism is not an issue. Australia seems to be handling its cultural diversity fairly peaceably, and outside metropolitan centres the percentage of overseas-born young people is negligible. Why focus on this issue? By focussing on our differences, don’t we simply encourage divisiveness? Does it have much to do with our mission to serve young people in the name of Christ?

While these questions are valid, it is also true that Australia’s diverse mix of ethnicities is a constant challenge. We have not yet resolved the tensions between the diverse cultures that inhabit Australia. As to whether multiculturalism is relevant to Christian mission amongst young people, incarnational mission requires that we take seriously the history, culture and ethnicity of the young people we serve.

Download: Christian Work in a Multicultural Society, Revolve 9, June 2005 (pdf)

Religion Part 1 & 2

Religion is hot news in Australia right now. There is a focus on ‘extremist’ religion, usually Islamic. Family First, a political party with roots in the Assemblies of God, succeeded in getting a senator elected at the last federal election. Both the Prime Minister and Treasurer have visited Hillsong Church recently. In Victoria, a race and religious vilification case has just finished. Intelligent Design, as alternative theory of origin, has garnered much media attention. But how do young people interact with issues of religion and spirituality? Do they think about their spiritual journey in the same way as previous generations? What are the differences?

Download: Religion & Spirituality I, Revolve 10, September 2005 (pdf)

Download: Religion & Spirituality II, Revolve 11, December 2005 (pdf)

Consumerism, Faith and Young People

Young people are particularly susceptible to the seductive abuse of consumerism, only having known a world where ads are ever-present, where brands signify acceptance or rejection and where banks fall over themselves to lend you the cash to participate in this divine ritual.

The Christian church is only just coming to terms with this rival for the hearts and minds of young people. Preoccupied with other foes, it has been blind-sided because, for the most part, the church has bought into the consumer circus holus-bolus.

This edition of Revolve seeks to sketch the contours of Australian consumerism and suggest a few ways forward for those seeking to be work with young people in a Christ-like way.

Download: Consumerism, Faith & Young People, Revolve 12, April 2006 (pdf)

At Risk Youth

Young people experiencing risk include those who are presently at risk of harm. They may be involved in, or exposed to drug use, crime, homelessness, mental illness, unemployment, suicide/self-harm, early school leaving, truancy, abuse and/or neglect. This group of young people make up a large proportion of the young people YFC work with.

Download: Adolescent Drug Use, Revolve 13, November 2006 (pdf)

Australian Families

As people committed to working with young people and their families, we do not have the luxury of working with families as we would like them to be. We work with Australian families as they are. And they are many and varied. Nuclear, extended, mixed, blended, gay, step, lesbian, de facto, married, divorced. Add to that the fact that families vary widely in their quality of life: from child abuse and incest through to “just liveable” through to happy and contented. Add to that the differing cultural and ethnic groups in Australia which shape families according to long-held assumptions passed down through generations. Australian families are bewildering in their variety.

Many Christian commentators seem to want to put the genie back in the bottle, to return to an imagined time when families consisted of a man and a woman, joined in loving marriage under God until death, who raised children to look after themselves and contribute to their community. This is my experience, and it may be the experience of many people reading this paper. But the reality of Australian families usually differs from this vision.

Download: Australian Families, Revolve 14, February 2008 (pdf)

The YES Project

Youth participation in the electoral process is of great concern in Western democracies today. For many years we have known that young people are less likely to enroll to votethan older groups. This national study is attempting to uncover the reasons why this is so and also look at what motivates Australia’s young people to participate.

This four year research project is a major national study by a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the Australian National University working in conjunction with the Australian Electoral Commission. The research is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), through its ARC Linkage Grants program, as well as the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). The project is being administered through the University of Sydney.

The Chief Investigators for the project are A/Professor Murray Print (Centre for Research & Teaching in Civics, University of Sydney) and Dr. Larry Saha (Reader in Sociology, ANU), together with Dr Kathy Edwards as Senior Research Associate. The Partner Investigator isBrien Hallett (Assistant Commissioner, Public Awareness, Media and Research, AEC). The Steering Committee is composed of the following: Brien Hallett , Andrew Moyes (Assistant Commissioners, AEC), David Farrell (NSW/AEC), A/Prof Murray Print, Dr. Larry Saha and Dr. Kathy Edwards.

Project Objectives
The principal purpose of the project is to determine why many young people do not register on the Australian electoral roll. It has been estimated that there are approximately 300,000 young Australians, 18-25 years of age who do not vote in elections because they have not registered.

Apart from the fact that voting is compulsory, the under-registration of eligible young people raises questions about their political interest and commitment.

A more fundamental purpose is to investigate the impact of disengaged youth on Australian democracy. Large numbers of non-participating youth have implications for the effectiveness and future of the Australian democratic political system.

Thus the project is investigating the underlying characteristics of those who do and do not register when they become eligible at age 17, and is focusing on the links between pro-voting behaviour and family, school and other social and psychological variables. The meaning of voting and other forms of active citizenship by Australian youth is being examined. Various current intervention strategies to improve registration will be analysed and new strategies will be proposed and developed.

Youth Electoral Study – Report 1: Enrolment and Voting

Youth participation in the electoral process is of great concern in many democracies today. For many years we have known that young people are less likely to enrol to vote than older groups. The Youth Electoral Study (YES) is a national study attempting to uncover the reasons why this is so and also look at what motivates Australia’s young people to participate in voting.

This four year national project is a major investigation into youth voting behaviour led by a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the Australian National University working in conjunction with the Australian Electoral Commission. The research is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), through its ARC Linkage Grants program, with a major contribution from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as industry partner. The project is being administered through the University of Sydney.

The Chief Investigators for the project are A/Professor Murray Print (Centre for Research & Teaching in Civics, University of Sydney) and Dr. Larry Saha (Reader in Sociology, ANU), together with Dr Kathy Edwards as Senior Research Associate. The Partner Investigator is Brien Hallett (Assistant Commissioner, Public Awareness , Media and Research, AEC). The Project Officer from the AEC, until recently, has been Ms. Yvonne Harrison (NSW/AEC). The Steering Committee is composed of the following: Brien Hallett , Andrew Moyes (Assistant Commissioner Enrolment and Parliamentary Services, AEC), David Farrell (Australian Electoral Officer for NSW, AEC), Yvonne Harrison, (NSW/AEC), A/Prof Murray Print, Dr.Larry Saha and Dr. Kathy Edwards.

Project Objectives
The principal purpose of the project is to determine why many young people do not register on the Australian electoral roll despite compulsory enrolment and voting provisions in legislation.

The AEC estimates indicate that at the 2004 electoral roll close, approximately 82% young Australians (17-25 years of age) were enrolled (compared with 95% of other Australians), on the electoral roll. Apart from the fact that enrolment and voting are compulsory, the registration of eligible young people raises questions about their political interest and commitment to their civic responsibility.

A more fundamental purpose of YES is to investigate the impact of disengaged youth on Australian democracy. Large numbers of non-participating youth have implications for the effectiveness and representativeness of our political system. Should this trend continue, the future viability of the Australian democratic political system may become problematic.

Thus the project is investigating the underlying characteristics of those who do and do not register when they become eligible at age 17, and is focusing on the links between pro-voting behaviour and family, school and other social and psychological variables. The meaning of voting and other forms of active citizenship by Australian youth is being examined. Various current intervention strategies to improve registration will be analysed for their impact and new strategies examined.

Download: Youth Electoral Study – Report 1: Enrolment and Voting

Youth Electoral Study – Report 2: Youth, Political Engagement and Voting

Enrolment and voting are behaviours which are normally associated with “active citizenship”, particularly if they are voluntary and not compulsory. Furthermore, in most discussions of citizenship voting is seen as a minimum requirement in fulfilling one’s responsibilities as a citizen, but it is not seen as the only activity which qualifies as citizenship behaviour (Saha, 2000a).

But can one be an active citizen without voting?

Most researchers recognise that there are many political behaviours that can be included in the notion of “active citizenship” which are more community-oriented and policy-oriented, such as volunteer work and other projects designed to eliminate community problems. For example, in her survey of 18-34 year-old Australians, Vromen (2003a) adopted a broad conceptualisation of political behaviour that included 19 “participatory acts” which, by means of principle components analysis, were reduced to four scales: “individualistic”, “party”, “communitarian” and “activist”. Vromen found that her young Australians were more politically active than many people recognise (almost all had participated in at least one activity) and that:

1) women were more active in communitarian and activist activities,

2) those with more education were more active overall, and

3) individualised activities were more numerous than collective activities.

Voting, however, was not one of the 19 activities, and while these findings are important in their own right, we still need to understand the link between forms of political activism and voting.

Westheimer and Kahn (2004) argued that there are three types of citizen and labeled them as: 1) Personally responsible citizen (obey laws, contributes to good causes, recycles, gives blood, etc; 2) The Participatory citizen (volunteers for community work, joins community or social groups, helps organise programs to help others etc; and 3) The Justice-oriented citizen (critically assesses the causes of social problems, and works actively to alleviate them). After their study of two civics education school projects, they concluded that these three types of citizenship behaviour may be discreet and that they can be taught separately in civics and citizenship classes in schools.

Once again, Westheimer and Kahne included behaviours such as political interest, and intention to volunteer; they did not include the intention to vote or voting.

Some researchers argue that “active citizenship” behaviours are linked and overlap (Youniss & Yates, 1999), and further, that they are related to voting. For example, Verba and his colleagues (Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995) found in their study of American adults that voting and community activity tended to go together. In addition, they found that many adult “active citizens” had already been active while still in school. But the question of voting and citizenship takes on a different perspective in the Australian context given that voting is legally required and therefore compulsory for citizens (Hallett, 1999).

In other words, do people vote merely to obey the law, or do they vote because they want to be participative citizens?

The many behaviours included in the above research, whether at the individual or community level, are usually regarded as forms of political engagement and also include activities such as signing petitions, writing letters and even participating in forms of public display of consent or dissent with government policies or actions. These latter activities occur in the form of rallies or demonstrations connected with various social movements, and have sometimes been referred to as the “politics of the future” (Jennett & Stewart, 1989) or “new politics” (Pakulski, 1991).

In this report we focus on the link between various forms of political activity reported by Australian youth, and their intention to vote. In addressing this issue, we highlight some of our findings from the 2004 national survey of 4855 senior secondary school students, from 153 schools, drawn randomly from an inclusive national list. The response rate of targeted schools was 74%. We also utilise the group interview data collected from sixteen electoral divisions. (See Print, Saha and Edwards, 2004 for a more detailed description of the YES project.) We focus specifically on the behaviours which we define as indicating political engagement among Australian youth, and we examine how these behaviours are related to their voting intentions.

As voting is compulsory in Australia for federal and state elections, there are two items in the YES questionnaire which measure voting intention.

The first simply asks the student if he or she will vote when they reach 18 years of age. The second asks whether they would vote in a Federal election if they did not have to. In our first YES report, we pointed out that while 87% of the students said they would vote in a Federal election, only 50% said they would still vote if it were not compulsory. (Print, Saha, & Edwards, 2004)

Download: Youth Electoral Study – Report 2: Youth, Political Engagement and Voting

Youth Electoral Study – Report 3: Youth, The Family, and Learning About Politics and Voting

The aim of this report is to consider what we have learnt from YES about how and what young people learn about politics, voting and enrolling to vote from their families. The influence of the family on political behaviour has a long history as a subject of research.

One of the best sources for an overview of this literature is Niemi and Sobieszek (1977), which describes the field of political socialisation. The seminal text that defined this discipline is generally agreed to be Hyman’s Political Socialization: A Study in The Psychology of Political Behavior (1959).

Others such as Renshon’s Handbook of Political Socialization (Renshon 1977) have also been influential.

The foundational argument of political socialisation was the hypothesis that, although ‘politics’ was an adult activity, attitudes about politics were gained at a very young age. The aim was to understand the stability of Western democracies through an analysis of how democratic and other political norms were transferred through the generations. Political socialisation identified a number of sites for the transmission of political norms, values and attitudes, including schools, the media and, most significantly, the family (Beck and Jennings 1991; Jennings and Niemi 1971; Jennings and Niemi 1968, 1971).

Reflecting its mixed parentage of political science and psychology most studies carried out in the name of ‘political socialisation’ adopted a rigid quantitative approach based on written closed-question surveys. Particular emphasis was placed on attitudes toward authority, recognition of political persons, understanding of institutions and trust in accepted norms. Most of these studies concerned the political socialisation of children in the USA. Among them, however, was R.W. Connell’s The Child’s Construction of Politics (Connell, 1971) that aimed at understanding how Australian children learned about and understood politics. Connell’s intention was to understand whether political values, including a commitment to conservative politics, could be transmissible through the generations.

But this new political socialisation literature failed to live up to its promise of understanding the complexity of the formation of political attitudes.

As early as 1968 studies highlighting ‘major problems’ in the theory and methodology of political socialisation began to appear (Dennis 1968). For a start, although earlier studies of the transmission of political values from parent to child discovered high degrees of correlation in parent-child values, later studies using different methodologies questioned this. Assumptions made about the passivity of children as subjects within the process of socialisation were also challenged.

By the 1980’s studies of political socialisation had all but vanished and researchers turned to a meta-analysis of the objectives and methodology of the discipline. In 1987 Connell was confident in asserting that the discipline had ‘failed’ (Connell 1987). Yet, even Connell asked, ‘what should replace it’? And studies mooting a ‘return to political socialisation’ continually appear (Dudley and Gitelson 2002; Sears 1990). Clearly there is something about the subject of political socialisation that engages researchers.

Civics and Citizenship Education programmes widely found in the education systems of many Western democracies including Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are testimony to a principle that as a normative practice both the family and the school should prepare young people to enter the world as ‘active citizens’ aware of their rights, duties and able to understand the mechanisms of the state and political institutions. Also accepted is that young people do not emerge as adults as ‘blank slates’, but as already having some views about politics and democratic participation. At the time that young people in Australia are eligible to enrol to vote (at the age of 17) and required to enrol and vote in any elections (at the age of 18) they already hold some attitudes towards democracy, political views and opinions about the social and political landscape of Australia.

This was clearly demonstrated in previous YES reports that showed that many young people have protested and others have positions on what they think about voting as a democratic act (Print, Saha and Edwards 2004; Saha, Print and Edwards 2005).

To this end, in the literatures on education and political science more broadly, the subject of children’s and adolescents’ learning about politics remains a subject of analysis. Most studies highlight the role played by ‘the family’ as a site of political learning. The International Education Association (IEA), for example, in its study of civic learning identified the family asa major variable (Torney-Purta et al. 2001). In relation to voting specifically studies also highlight the benefits of positive reinforcement through discussion in the family about politics (Andolina et. al. 2003) and through parents taking young children to the polling booth (Meirick and Wackman 2004).

YES reported in Enrolment and Voting (Print, Saha, & Edwards, 2004), that survey respondents identified ‘the family’ as the most important source of information about voting in elections, followed by the television, newspapers and teachers (See Table 1 in that report).

Participants in our focus groups identified the same sources as being important in terms of finding out about politics and voting. Taking into account some of the pitfalls encountered by previous attempts to understand and theorise ‘the family’, it is therefore important that we explore the family as a source of political learning, information, discussion and knowledge for young Australians.

To summarise, the fundamental problem in research about young people and political learning seems to be how to understand the process of learning about politics without lapsing into determinism. With respect to the family the issue appears to be how to understand the family as an important arena in which young people learn about politics without conceptualisingyoung people as simple products of familial conditioning.

The following discussion of young people and political learning in the family thus considers the young person as an active subject. We do not presume that the young person is a simple product of familial socialisation such that they merely replicate parental perspectives. Nor do we presume that their views are entrenched and static. Rather we consider that we have interviewed subjects at a pivotal period in their career as ‘political subjects’ and as Australian citizens, the years around which they will gain the citizen’s right and duty of the franchise, and this is placed in the context of the primary research problem – why do many of these young people not register to vote?

Download: Youth Electoral Study – Report 3: Youth, The Family, and Learning About Politics and Voting

Formal mentoring aims to provide young people with support and guidance through planned relationships with positive adult and peer role models; it does so within a framework which includes experienced and qualified staff and trained volunteers.

A large volunteer effort in Australia supports mentoring for young people from primary school age to young adulthood and from very diverse backgrounds. Formal mentoring is based in communities, in schools and other sites; it is funded by federal and state governments. Corporate and business support for mentoring of young people is at present relatively small compared to some other western countries, however there are some effective partnerships with community agencies and evidence of growing interest in the area.

It is time to promote and support a broader concept of mentoring than has been evident in Australia to date, and to foster cross-fertilisation of what is known about successful mentoring with other current developments and policy frameworks. For example, mentoring is integral to the larger policy framework of encouraging young people to maintain contact with education, training and employment. It has considerable potential to improve understanding and communication across different age groups and to strengthen common bonds between generations at a time when there is potential for divisiveness.

In addition, quality mentoring for young people contributes to networking and community strengthening, builds on and enhances youth development frameworks and positively focuses on young people’s skills and contributions to society.

It is time for a coordinated, resourced approach to mentoring. In countries where mentoring for young people has expanded beyond short-term programs, a broad approach and underlying support for ongoing development of mentoring has been necessary. The available evidence suggests that a primarily purchaser-provider relationship between government and agencies providing services has very real limitations for moving forward to a more integrated concept of mentoring, creating a climate of sustainability, ensuring long term benefit and fostering innovation and good practice.

There are well-established effective models on which to build a national approach. The range of agencies and the number of young people involved in mentoring has grown considerably in recent years and there is public interest in its possibilities. A strong national strategy is needed to support organisations and individuals working in the field, to encourage local initiatives, and to ensure that resources are used for the best possible outcomes.

AUTHOR: Robyn Hartley

Link: The Dusseldorp Skills Forum – Young People and Mentoring: Towards a National Strategy

A report commissioned by The Foundation for Young Australians from the Australian Youth Research Centre at The University of Melbourne. This report examines the opportunities and issues around young people in decision making roles. It provides current thinking on “better practice” as well as a reflective toolkit that has been developed for working alongside young people.

This report focuses on young people in decision-making. Through the voices of young people, it explores:

• What young people in decision-making is and why it is important;
• What is currently happening in the area;
• The challenges and issues for young people in decision-making roles;
• What helps and what gets in the way.
• It offers a reflective toolkit, which has been developed for working alongside young people in decision-making roles.

In terms of what works for young people in decision-making roles, there are three key elements:

• Meaning – doing something that has a bigger purpose and that ‘I believe in’;
• Control – making decisions, being heard and thus having what it takes to see the task through and do it well; and
• Connectedness – working with others and being part of something bigger.

The report challenges all organisations involving young people in decision-making roles that “taking it seriously will mean changes in the way we do business as organisations and as a community”.

The report makes the case for new roles, connections and meeting points between young people and with their communities.

Link: Foundation for Young Australians -  Sharing a New Story: Young people in Decision Making