Starting from a political socialization perspective, this study examined the development of political participation during adolescence and early adulthood. We explore the effect of parents, peers, school media, and voluntary associations on political participation. Self-reported data were collected from 3,025 Belgian adolescents at three points in…

In this article, the author talks about Up for Arts, a Liverpool-based radio project aimed at promoting engagement in the arts. Up for Arts is a unique social action project which uses radio as a means of increasing public engagement in the voluntary arts and crafts. Its success has depended not only on the commitment of its partner organisations…

Political engagement among U.S. emerging adults aged 18 to 24 was examined via quantitative and qualitative data. The data analyzed are from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). The NSYR consists of three waves of a nationally representative (a) telephone survey (Wave 1 n = 4,161), (b) in-person interviews (Wave 3 n = 230) collected…

A "good society" has recently been portrayed as one in which citizens engage in voluntary associations to foster democratic processes. Arguably, such a good society is considered as one where people are content with their own lives as well as public life. We consider whether participation in civil society leads to more satisfied…

Smaller government and community service initiatives mean public administrators must increase citizen volunteer involvement. They should adopt successful techniques from volunteer administrators for recruiting, selecting, motivating, training, and developing volunteers. (SK)

Fostering an ethic of active citizenship is typically a key goal for national service. However, national service advocates often assume that national service will act as civic education, paying insufficient attention to what this means and how different policy designs further or undermine different conceptions or aspects of citizenship. This paper…

This study determined that adolescent participation in voluntary associations was related to the form and extent of political activity in adulthood. Adolescent participation had positive effects on discussion of issues, campaign participation, and voting rates. (Author/APM)

The voluntary, public, economic, and professional sectors form an interactive network in which the voluntary sector has an important impact on the quality of community life. The kinds of formal and informal learning that take place in voluntary organizations bring about individual change and empowerment and should transfer to active citizenship.…

This handbook offers practical suggestions for advocates of individuals with developmental disabilities on how to: acquire basic training, recruit volunteers, influence decision makers, lend reinforcement to state and national initiatives, make and keep important contacts, and enlist new allies. Chapter titles include: "Why…

This pamphlet discusses one of the most essential but often misunderstood tasks facing nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations today: lobbying. It is addressed to Americans who volunteer their time and money to promote causes they believe will make this a better world. The pamphlet encourages citizens to lobby for two reasons. First, because virtually…

Discusses two ways of enhancing the ability of clients of local educational services to contribute to policy decisions; first, by developing public policies which support private, voluntary citizen organizations to influence educational policies and, second, by strengthening mandated advisory councils. Briefly describes five means of implementing…

The author provides background on the junto and defines its role as a voluntary discussion group attempting to solve problems. She describes recent uses of the junto at conferences and provides guidelines for planning a typical group. (CH)

Focuses on the role that citizen groups--both grass roots and nationally affiliated--play in local communities, examines the history of these groups, describes their activities, presents research findings, and sketches library service trends in several communities. References are included. (FM)

This is a report of a hearing held in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 1982, before the Subcommittee on Aging, Family, and Human Services of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate. The purpose of the hearing was to examine the untapped human potentials for volunteerism in America by promoting individual and corporate…

This discussion of the participation of employees, voluntary and community groups, and consumers and parents in community social services planning traces recent origins of British thinking on the subject, analyzes what social services planners can learn from physical planners, and discusses methods of participation for each type of group. (JT)