Good Participation

The Good Participation Project is a study of young people’s civic and political participation in a digital age. In 2011-2012, the Good Participation research team conducted in-depth interviews with 80 youth who participate in organized groups focused on social issues (such as school quality, youth jobs, and neighborhood air quality), political issues (electoral politics), and social movements (such as Occupy Wall Street).

As part of MacArthur’s Youth and Participatory Politics research network, the aim of our project is to explore the conceptions of citizenship held by youth today and the role of new digital media in their civic and political lives. Our study explores young people’s entry points into civic or political spheres; their role models, mentors, and other supports; the nature of their civic identities, including their theories of change; and the contexts in which they pursue civic and political ends, with special attention to friendship- and interest-oriented online communities such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and the like. The Good Participation Project is funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Along with the Trust & Trustworthiness and Civic Trust Among Young Immigrants projects, the Good Participation project deals with what we term Good Citizenship.