Citizenship Practices Among Youth Who Have Experienced Government Care

Authors

  • Kate Butler University of Victoria
  • Cecilia Benoit

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/cjs20571

Abstract

Abstract. Expressions of youth citizenship are evident in young people’s actions, behaviours, and lived experiences. While youth citizenship literature has proliferated in the last two decades, the focus has often been on rights and responsibilities, rather than the differences in citizenship practices amongst youth themselves. Using a qualitative research design, our study explores how youth-with-care-experience practice citizenship. We conducted twenty semi-structured interviews with youth-with-care-experience between the ages of 14-24 in Greater Victoria, Canada. Analysis of participants’ narratives reveals three types of citizenship practices: self-responsible, dissenting and reluctant citizenship. We discuss our findings in the context of the literature on youth citizenship, focusing on the ways that it is contextualized by experiences with family, peers, institutions, and the government care system. Résumé. Les expressions de la citoyenneté des jeunes sont évidentes dans leurs actions, comportements et leurs expériences vécues. Alors que la littérature reliée à la citoyenneté des jeunes a proliféré dans les deux dernières décennies, l’emphase a souvent été mise sur les droits et les responsabilités, plutôt que sur les différences dans les pratiques de la citoyenneté chez les jeunes. En utilisant un modèle de recherche qualitatif, notre étude explore comment la citoyenneté est vécue par les jeunes qui ont été pris en charge. Nous avons effectué vingt entretiens semi-structurés avec des jeunes qui ont été pris en charge âgés entre 14 et 24 ans dans la région de Victoria, Canada. L’analyse des données révèle trois types de pratiques de la citoyenneté: auto-responsable, dissidente et réticente. Nous discutons de nos résultats dans le contexte de la littérature sur la citoyenneté des jeunes, en mettant l’accent sur les façons dont la citoyenneté des jeunes est contextualisée par des expériences avec la famille, les pairs, les institutions et le système de santé.

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Published

2015-03-19

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Articles

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