Students’ Participation In The Socio-Cultural Development Of The City: Socio-Cultural Agency Issues (International Research Perspectives)

The article tackles the issue of youth agency, understood as the desire and ability of young people to engage in the socio-cultural development of their cities of choice for pursuing higher education. This contribution tries to clarify factors to be considered in analyzing youth agency in an international perspective. It is based on an internationally conducted survey, in 2020, among students in regional centers from Russia, Armenia, Poland and Romania (target sample No =1272). Across their different socio-cultural backgrounds and context of living and studying, young people share similarities regarding their readiness to get involved in projects of territorial development but also display significant distinctive features to be considered in international comparisons. The cross-countrycomparison highlighted the existence of four models of agency. Russian youth is characterized mainlyby an "escapist" model of agency, with a low level of readiness for social participation and a lack of experience in such activities. Two models dominate in Armenia: "active" with a high level of readinessand real involvement, as well as the model of "potential development". In Poland, the level of socialparticipation among students is much higher than in other countries, but it is predominantly passive. Romanian students demonstrate an actualized "active" model of socio-cultural agency. At the same time, the potential for its development is low. These findings help explain the variations in students’ readiness to participate in urban socio-cultural development projects.

Keywords

social participation; youth participation; urban development, students, agency, identity

Acknowledgment

The research was supported by RFBR, project № 20-011-00471.

Received

08.02.2022

Publication date

21.06.2022

Number of characters

34915

Cite

GOST	Cernicova-Bucă M., Pevnaya M., Shuklina E. Students’ Participation In The Socio-Cultural Development Of The City: Socio-Cultural Agency Issues (International Research Perspectives) // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2022. – Issue 5 C. 101-113 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250018512-6-1-en (circulation date: 29.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250018512-6
MLA	Cernicova-Bucă, Mariana, Pevnaya, Maria, Shuklina, Elena A "Students’ Participation In The Socio-Cultural Development Of The City: Socio-Cultural Agency Issues (International Research Perspectives)." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 5 (2022):101-113. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250018512-6
APA	Cernicova-Bucă M., Pevnaya M., Shuklina E. (2022). Students’ Participation In The Socio-Cultural Development Of The City: Socio-Cultural Agency Issues (International Research Perspectives). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (5), pp.101-113 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250018512-6

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 516

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Antonova N., Abramova S., Polyakova V. (2020) The right to the city: Daily practices of youth and participation in the production of urban space. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i social'nye peremeny [Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes]. No. 3: 443–462. (In Russ.)

2. Cahill H., Dadvand B. (2018) Re-conceptualising Youth Participation: A Framework to Inform Action. Children and Youth Services Review. No. 95: 243–253.

3. Huntington S. (2004) Who are we? The Challenges to American’s National Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster.

4. Kisilenko A.V. (2018) Volunteering: the self-organization potential of Russian youth. Nauchnyj rezul'tat. Sociologiya i upravlenie [Research result. Sociology and Management]. No. 4: 63–71. (In Russ.)

5. Lalli M. (1992) Urban-related identity: Theory, measurement, and empirical findings. Journal of Environmental Psychology. Vol. 12. No. 4: 285–303.

6. Lawler S. (2014) Identity. Sociological perspectives. Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA: Polity press.

7. Litvina S.A., Muravyeva O.I. (2018) Questionnaire of identity with the city: development, validation, reliability check. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta [Science for Education Today] No. 1: 73–91. (In Russ.)

8. Lukov V.A., Lukov S.V. (2020) Subjectivity of youth in the processes of socialization and inculturation. Gorizonty gumanitarnogo znaniya [Horizons of humanitarian knowledge]. No. 1: 3–20. (In Russ.)

9. Michels A. (2012) Citizen Participation in Local Policy Making: Design and Democracy. International Journal of Public Administration. 2012. Vol. 35. No. 4: 285–292.

10. Nikovskaya L.I., Skalaban I.A. (2017) Civic participation: features of discourse and trends of real development. POLIS. Politicheskie issledovaniya [POLIS. Political Studies]. No. 6: 43–60. (In Russ.)

11. North D.C, Wallis J.J., Weingast B. R. (2009) Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.

12. Ostrom E. (1990) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

13. Ozerina A. A. (2016) Urban identity as a socio-psychological phenomenon. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of Volgograd State University]. No. 4 (34): 135–139. (In Russ.)

14. Paolini G., Horváth A., Motiejūnaitė А. (2018) Situation of Young People in the European Union Commission. Brussels: EС.

15. Shkurko T.A., Balakina A.A. (2014) Socio-psychological features of attitudes towards other people and the attitude of residents of megalopolis, large and small cities. Rostov-on-Don: YuFU.

16. Tajfel H., Turner J.C. (1986) The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. Psychology of intergroup relations. Chicago: Chicago univ. press.

17. Ushamirsky A.E. (2016) The problem of subjectivity of youth. Rossiya: tendencii i perspektivy razvitiya [Russia: trends and prospects of development]. No. 11: 628–630. (In Russ.)

18. Wirth L. (1938) Urbanism as a way of life, The American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 44, No. 1: 1–24.

19. Yadov V.A. (1995) Social and socio-psychological mechanisms of formation of a person’s social identity. Mir Rossii [Universe of Russia]. No. 3–4: 158–181. (In Russ.)

20. Zubok Yu.A., Chuprov V.I. (2017) Threats in a transforming living environment as a factor of social risks: forecasting and regulation. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological studies] No. 5: 57–67. (In Russ.)