From receivers of service to givers of service: Promoting civic engagement in youth from disadvantaged circumstances

Youth civic engagement has been an important topic for educators, policy makers, community leaders, and parents with many voicing concerns over a growing decrease in youth civic engagement. Youth civic engagement is often defined by engagement with politics and or the local community through volunteering or service-learning. Youth from disadvantaged circumstances tend to be less civically engaged then their advantaged counterparts and often find themselves as receivers of service with fewer opportunities to give. Disadvantaged circumstances refer to the circumstances youth were born into that put them at a disadvantage for academic achievement such as poverty and race. Opportunities for these youth to reverse the relationship from receiver of service to giver of service will likely lead to increases in youth civic engagement. Service-learning is often used to increase civic engagement by helping youth gain knowledge of their community and opportunities to be of service to others. This case study utilized youth participatory action research and service-learning to understand how opportunities to serve can promote youth civic engagement. The findings suggest that when given opportunities to serve that go beyond simple acts of charity to justice oriented service-learning projects; youth from disadvantaged circumstances will seek out additional opportunities to serve thereby increasing their civic engagement level and spurring the development of their civic identity.