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Article
Constraints on and facilitators of young
people’s participation: the case of border
regions of mainland Portugal.
Sofia Marques da Silvaa, Nicolas Martins Silvaa, Sara Arezesb, Paulo
Sérgio Martinsc, Sara Fariad, Vitor Diase, Ana Milheiro Silvaa
aCentre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and
Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal bUniversity of Minho, Braga,
Portugal cDr. Vieira de Carvalho Basic and Secondary School, Maia, Portugal dFaculty of
Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal ePortuguese
Institute of Sport and Youth, Porto, Portugal
Keywords: young people, civic and political participation, border and rural
regions
Highlights:
− Young people are involved in diverse types of participation, being engaged,
disengaged or unpolitical.
− Young people perceive opportunities to organise initiatives but not to participate
in local decisions.
− Constraints on participation and responses to promote it were identified.
− Context-specific barriers were mentioned by young people and policymakers.
− Municipalities and schools are priority contexts for fostering youth participation.
Purpose: This article aims to assess constraints on and facilitators of youth
participation in rural border regions. Knowledge about regional participation of
young people is useful for developing territorialised policies.
Methodology: Using a mixed method approach designed in line with theories of
civic and political participation and youth studies, we analysed responses from
young people to a questionnaire (n = 3968) and interviews with policymakers (n
= 36) and young people (n = 20).
Findings: Young people are involved in diverse types of civic and political
participation and perceive more opportunities to organise initiatives than to
participate in local decision-making. Constraints on participation relate to the
distance between politics, governance institutions and young people, weak
strategies of municipalities, lack of youth organisations and mobility. Facilitators
of participation include supporting youth-led activities or involving young people
in local decisions.
Research implications: the study contributes to understanding youth
participation in rural regions.
JSSE
Journal of
Social
Science
Education
2023, Vol. 22(3)
Edited by:
Reinhold Hedtke
Jan Löfström
Andrea Szukala
Open Access
Corresponding author: Sofia Marques Silva, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 420-135 Porto, Portugal.
E-Mail: sofiamsilva@fpce.up.pt
Suggested citation:
Silva, S. M., Silva, N. M., Arezes, S., Martins, P. S., Faria, S., Dias, V., & Silva, A. M. (2023).
Constraints on and facilitators of young people’s participation: The case of border regions of
mainland Portugal. Journal of Social Science Education, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.11576/jsse-5212
Declaration of conflicts of interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the
authors.
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 2
1 INTRODUCTION
Concerns about young people’s lack of participation, dealignment from politics and lack
of belief in representative democracy have resonated globally, portraying young people
as disengaged, apolitical or apathetic (Furlong & Cartmel, 2007). This narrative has been
strongly used by media, academia, and governments (Manning, 2013; Menezes &
Makkawi, 2013) without discussing how the conventional concept of politics may
contribute to this or the barriers to inclusive political participation. From a different
perspective, other studies refute the notion of a disengaged youth (Amnå & Ekman, 2014;
Zukin, Keeter, Andolina, Jenkins, & Delli, 2006) and instead point to the fact that young
people do not feel included by formal actors and organisations, leading to new forms of
participation (Beck, 2001; O’Toole, 2003). At the same time, literature on political
participation and civic engagement states that these activities are relevant to promote
young people’s personal and social development and to pave the future of democracies
while re-generating politics (Pickard & Bessant, 2018).
In Portugal, young people’s civic engagement and political participation follow the
current European trends. Research has highlighted young people’s disinterest in
conventional forms of participation, such as voting or participating in political groups and
the lack of belief in political institutions (Lobo, Ferreira, & Rowland, 2015). A recent
national-level study developed in Portugal showed that young people aged 15 to 34 are not
interested in conventional forms of political participation: Only 8% of young people said
they participate in a political party, and 8.4% in social movements. This is the lowest figure
compared to the results for affiliation with other groups and associations such as
student/youth associations (12.3%), cultural or recreational groups (23%), sports groups
(23.8%), and church congregations and other religious groups (28.6%; Costa et al., 2022).
An EU-level survey that asked what type of activity young people aged 15 to 30 had
participated in at least once in the past twelve months found that young Portuguese were
most likely to be involved in civic participation activities (34%), such as involvement in
local and community organisations, human rights and climate change, and sports
organisations (25%). Only 9% reported involvement in political organisations and parties,
confirming the decline in this type of involvement (European Commission, 2022). When
asked about the reasons why they do not participate in the different activities, young
Portuguese said that they do not participate due to lack of time (34%), ignoring how to be
involved (27%) or lack of interest (24%).
Due to concern with the disengagement of young people from conventional forms of
participation, policies at the global, European, and national levels have been developed to
support youth civic engagement and political participation. However, youth participation
also depends on local youth policies, “especially as youth participation evolves mainly at
the local level initiated by local authorities, youth work associations or youth-led groups”
(Walther, Lüküslü, Loncle, & Pais, 2021, p. 192).
Since the early 90s, many European governments have been sensitive to the need to
create conditions at regional and local levels to support young people. The Revised
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 3
European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life
emphasizes the importance of supporting youth at regional and local levels in its preamble
and highlights the importance of developing young people’s active citizenship (Council of
Europe, 2003). The EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 (Council of the European Union, 2018)
shows a clear concern for young people in rural regions, acknowledging differences in
young people from urban and rural settings, confirming the need to safeguard equality
for young people growing up in different settings. It specifies a particular target: to
“[e]nsure that young people in rural areas are actively participating in decision-making
processes” (p. 15).
Several contributions have highlighted the growing importance of youth in local and
regional political agendas, emphasizing the value of youth participation in public spheres
as they foster knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and can therefore be considered an
opportunity for non-formal citizenship education, which is fundamental to youth
citizenship (Queiroz & Menezes, 2013). This fact also suggests that understanding the
active role of young people also requires the development of policies and programs that
provide young people with relevant and quality experiences at the community and local
levels where citizenship education and democracy education can take place (McCowan,
2009; Rodrigues et al., 2019). In this sense, environments at the local and community level
can be considered places where democracy can be learned (Ferreira et al., 2012b).
This article aims to contribute to the discussion on youth participation by examining
young people’s experiences, obstacles and opportunities for participation not as an
isolated phenomenon but as dependent on social, cultural, economic, and spatial
conditions. Understanding how young people deal with specific territorial challenges may
contribute to a fair portrait of their relationship with traditional and new forms of being
political and to a multisited construction of trust in future democracy. We understand
youth participation as the deliberate and voluntary involvement of young people in
institutions, movements and initiatives that impact their lives (Checkoway, 2011), related
to civic issues that promote social well-being (Adler & Goggin, 2005), such as volunteering
and community groups (Flanagan & Levine, 2010), and related to political issues, such as
activities related to governance, government, and politics (Van Deth, 2014).
Growing up in rural and border regions brings additional local and situated
experiences to further understanding global cultures. We consider it important to pay
attention to these young people’s experiences in their contexts to understand civic and
political participation cultures and to create opportunities to voice their perspectives and
their relationship with the locale (Trivelli & Morel, 2021).
After a theoretical contextualization and a methodological section, we will explore
young people’s experiences of participation, discussing the constraints and opportunities
found in youth participation. This discussion will consider young people and youth
policymakers’ perspectives from thirty-eight municipalities located in border regions of
Portugal. For this purpose, quantitative data from a questionnaire survey distributed to
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 4
young people and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with policymakers
and biographical interviews with young people are used.
The diversity of authors of this article represents a diversity of stakeholders that
contributed with both their perspectives and experiences, enriching the discussion and
contribution of knowledge that this article aims to make. This proposal, besides academic
(Authors 1, 2, 5, 7), includes as contributors a young person (Author 3), one teacher (Author
4) and one representative of policymakers (Author 6) involved in the research.
2 UNDERSTANDING YOUTH CIVIC AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Young people are simultaneously portrayed either as a driving force in safeguarding a
fair, peaceful and democratic society (Checkoway, 2011; Flanagan & Levine, 2010) or
condemned as those announcing the crisis and the end of democracy, as their lack of
political awareness, apathy, and distrust in politicians are considered a threat to
democratic traditions (Furlong & Cartmel, 2007). Young people are seen as increasingly
distrustful of state-based politics, whether of its process, institutions, or players (Henn &
Foard, 2012), which also may explain the low voting participation levels among this
population. They are represented as disengaged or apolitical and, simultaneously, as
radically unpolitical or as designers of noteworthy forms of political involvement
(Farthing, 2010). Others see young people’s “perceived” detachment as a new lifestyle
(Binder et al., 2021). Nevertheless, young people’s civic engagement, protest activities or
involvement in institutional politics are seen as crucial to personal and social
development (Kovacheva, 2005).
Several distinct yet interrelated definitions of youth participation, political
participation, and civic engagement exist. Youth participation implies the active and
voluntary engagement of young people (Van Deth, 2014) and their participation in
decision-making processes (Checkoway & Guttierez, 2006). Political participation refers to
the intention to influence governance structures, such as elections, or participation in
political and policy implementation structures. It also refers to governance activities
which aim to solve local or systemic problems (Van Deth, 2014). Civic participation refers
to involvement in activities to promote the common good, solving social problems, or
participation in voluntary activities or associations and cause-oriented movements
(Ekman & Amnå, 2012; Zukin et al., 2006).
A comprehensive understanding of new models of participation pushes against the
strong tendency to labelling young people’s relationship with politics from a polarised
paradigm, either as disengaged or fully active in alternatives forms of participation
(Binder et al., 2021; Earl, Maher, & Elliot, 2017; Farthing, 2010). However, it seems that a
larger spectrum needs to be considered. A longitudinal study involving eight European
countries by Enchikova and colleagues (2021), for example, found six patterns of youth
civic and political participation: fighter, activist, volunteer, backer, online and indifferent.
Literature has shown the relevance of recognizing various forms of youth participation in
decision-making processes (Akiva, Cortina, & Smith, 2014; Trivelli & Morel, 2021) and has
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 5
discussed the growing disengagement of conventional forms of political participation and
civic involvement. It highlights, for example, the vertical and hierarchical nature of
participation as influencing the reasoning of youth participation, also demonstrated in
other studies (Ferreira, Azevedo, & Menezes, 2012; Olsson, 2016; Pickard, 2019; Pickard &
Bessant, 2018; Teorell, Torcal, & Montero, 2007). Young people seem to prefer more
horizontal forms of participation where they feel their participation is more immediate,
such as signing online petitions, sharing civic or political content on social networks
(Malafaia, Menezes, & Neves, 2016) or even participating in digital platforms and online
groups (Kitanova, 2020; Olsson, 2016).
Youth-led protests and “do-it-ourselves” are examples of new forms of political
participation not recognised in youth policies, namely those intended to promote political
engagement (Pickard, 2019). Other perspectives show the relationship of young people
with politics as “radically unpolitical” (Farthing, 2010), a “powerful new form of action”
(Beck, 2001, p. 159) that could be interpreted as a symptom of how traditional politics has
been unable to address youth-relevant concerns (Binder et al., 2021).
The amplification of the repertoire of political action has been discussed as powerfully
challenging the narratives about young people’s apathy (Pickard, 2019; Pickard & Bessant,
2018). However, there is doubt that these new forms alone will compensate for the youth’s
fragile relationship with traditional politics due to the growing cynicism associated with
the new forms of participation (Farthing, 2010). In other words, “there is a fear that the
democratic capacity of these new forms of participation will not counter the democratic
deficit emerging from the demise of traditional politics” (p. 187).
To understand how young people navigate different forms of civic engagement and
political participation using different tools and concepts, it seems adequate to consider
young people as a heterogenous population (Pickard, 2019). Tracking youth participation
in disadvantaged areas such as rural and border regions benefit from such a perspective,
as highlighted by Farrugia (2014) and colleagues (Farrugia, Smyth, & Harrison, 2014).
3 YOUNG PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION AS A SITUATED PHENOMENON: THE CASE
OF RURAL AND BORDER REGIONS
There is less attention to young people’s participation regimes in rural and peripheral
regions, as Trivelli and Morel (2021) and Johansson (2017) noted. Youth studies often
represent an urban/rural division grounded in metrocentric perspectives of consumption,
leisure, or forms of participation associated with urban centres that influence regional
young people’s lives as they are “embedded in these cultural processes, which span city
and country to create hierarchies of cultural distinction” (Farrugia, 2014, p. 301). Spatiality
and spatial inequalities are analytical perspectives that bring additional reflections on
power relations and representations that may affect the quality and density of youth
participation in regional contexts (Massey, 1994).
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 6
Regarding rural regions, research has highlighted obstacles in raising awareness of
civic and political participation. A lack of role models for young people in those contexts,
a lack of community infrastructure for initiative development, and the problem of
remoteness and distances from places of interest, which hinder youth mobility, promote
greater isolation from extra-familial relationships and obstruct the diversity of
relationships likely to emerge in urban or suburban contexts (Metzger, Alvis, & Oosteroff,
2020; Pritzker & Metzger, 2011). For example, of the 38 border municipalities in mainland
Portugal, only twelve have a municipal youth council, which shows that there are not
enough youth associations in the remaining municipalities, which is a prerequisite for
creating such a local body.
It is already well-documented that social and economic factors impact young people’s
participation (Furlong & Cartmel, 2012; Metzger et al., 2020). Higher levels of parental
education are associated with greater civic and political participation development among
young people (Metzger et al., 2020; N. Silva, Pinheiro, & S. Silva, 2022), and school
experiences have been linked to the development of democratic knowledge (Pontes, Henn,
& Griffiths, 2017). Considering that rural border regions in Portugal have lower attainment
rates in higher education institutions and higher shares of NEET (Not in Education,
Employment or Training) in comparison to urban settings (Simões & Rio, 2020), we may
assume that there are additional constraints to consider when discussing youth
participation in those regions.
Most border regions in Portugal, especially rural and landlocked ones, face structural
territorial disparities compared to coastal areas (Farrugia, 2014; S. Silva, 2014). They are
irregularly developed, have the lowest purchasing power per capita (Statistics Portugal,
2019) and are, in general, low-density territories with persistent social, educational and
economic inequalities, when compared with urban areas, as official statistics and research
has demonstrated (Mauritti, Nunes, Alves, & Diogo, 2019; Statistics Portugal, 2017).
Young people have been recognised as being the most affected by regional asymmetries
regarding education, employment and mobility and opportunities for civic engagement
and political participation (Mauritti et al., 2019). Past studies highlighted the diversity of
young people’s experiences in rural settings (Panelli, 2002) and acknowledged that crises,
such as economic and financial ones, have diverse regional impacts and may amplify
territorial differences, namely regarding the job market (Carmo & Matias, 2019). This
situation has led to outmigration of young people, depopulation and isolation from major
urban centres, affecting available resources (Lind & Stjernstrom, 2015). As stated in the
policy brief Shrinking Rural Regions in Europe, “amongst the EU-15, the Nordic countries
of Finland and Sweden (and Iceland) together with the southern European countries of
Spain and Portugal had relatively high proportions of shrinking rural regions” (ESPON,
2017, p. 4).
Research has been arguing that young people have a certain distrust of politics and
political bodies (Dahl et al., 2018), often due to a sense of distance from politics (at national
and local levels) and political actors (M. Silva, Fernandes-Jesus, Loff, Nata, & Menezes,
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 7
2022). Although this could be true among young people also from urban contexts, in rural
places, social, economic, and educational asymmetries impact the low level of
participation (Metzger et al., 2020; S. Silva, 2014), reinforcing the impossibility of accessing
formal structures of political participation in these contexts. Additionally, at the regional
or local scale, mobility plays an important role in working as a facilitator or a constraint
to youth participation. As in many other regions in the European context, “in many rural
areas, public transportation is underdeveloped, usually with low frequency and poor
connectivity with nearby towns” (Prieto-Flores & Gasparovic, 2022, p. 6).
Considering that young people growing up in rural areas share constraints and
challenges with their urban counterparts, these may be exacerbated due to their
geography-specificities. In this regard, situated and intersectional perspectives in
research, policies and practices are fundamental to safeguarding their opportunities as
young people.
4 METHOD
4.1 Design and procedure
This contribution is based on a national-level study entitled “GROW:UP – Grow Up in
Border Regions in Portugal: Young People, Educational Pathways and Agendas”, and a
mixed methods research design was used. Quantitative data from a survey and qualitative
data from interviews with young people and municipalities’ representatives allowed us to
explore young people’s conditions and experiences of participation in their home regions.
The data presented and discussed in this paper come from the 38 border regions of
Portugal. For the survey, one school with secondary education was selected for each
municipality. In cases where there were no schools with secondary education, one school
with primary education up to 9th grade was selected. These schools were contacted by
email and/or telephone, and the study objectives were communicated. The questionnaire
was distributed on-site during classes. The questionnaire obtained the ethical
endorsement of the Research Monitoring System in Education Environments of the
Directorate-General for Education of Portugal (MIME), and its applications occurred in the
school context. The anonymity and confidentiality of the data were ensured in compliance
with the protection of personal data, according to MIME. The researchers ensured the
participants understood the informed consent during the questionnaire application and
emphasised that their participation was voluntary and anonymous. Semi-structured
interviews with policymakers were conducted in situ while in charge of educational and
youth policies at the municipality level, and biographical interviews were conducted with
young people from selected case studies. Case studies were selected after analysing
questionnaires answered by young people and based on the highest scores on factors
related to resilient communities, resilient schools, sense of belonging to the community,
and sense of belonging to the school.
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 8
Table 1. Participants’ demographics – frequencies and percentages.
Note: n = 3968
Abbreviations: NR, No response; DA, Does not apply
4.2 Participants
A questionnaire was delivered among 3968 young people from the 9th to 12th grade
growing up in border regions (Table 1). Of these, 56.7% were from the northern region,
11.8% from the centre region, and 31.6% from the southern region. The north of Portugal
has a higher population density and a higher number of schools. This sample is relatively
proportional in gender representation (54.0% girls and 46.0% boys), and respondents were
aged between 16 and 18 years (52.3%) or 13 and 15 years (44.0%). Regarding school level,
33.1% of respondents were in the 9th grade, 27.9% attended the 10th grade, 20.6% the 11th
n
%
n
%
Region
North
2249
56.7
Centre
467
11.8
South
1252
31.6
NR
0
0
Sex
Female
2141
54.0
Age
13-15
1744
44.0
Male
1824
46.0
16-18
2075
52.3
NR
3
.1
> 18
144
3.6
NR
5
.1
School year
9th
1315
33.1
Course
attended,
10th-12th
(n = 2645)
Scientific-
humanistic
2428
91.87
10th
1107
27.9
Vocational
198
7.5
11th
816
20.6
NR
19
.7
12th
722
18.2
NR
8
.2
Number of
books
0
84
2.1
1-10
580
14.6
11-50
1324
33.4
51-100
877
22.1
> 100
1042
26.3
NR
61
1.5
Mother’s
education
No
schooling
9
.2
Father’s
education
No schooling
15
.4
1-4 years
218
5.5
1-4 years
365
9.2
5-9 years
1164
29.3
5-9 years
1521
38.3
10-12 years
1317
33.2
10-12 years
938
23.6
University
864
21.8
University
556
14.0
NR
396
10.0
NR
573
14.4
3968
100
3968
100
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 9
grade and 18.2% the 12th grade. Concerning parents’ education, mothers had, on average,
higher levels of education in second grade and higher education than fathers.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 36 policymakers in charge of
educational and youth policies at the municipal level. Biographical interviews were
conducted among young people aged between 15 and 17 (n = 20). Nine interviewees were
students from the 10th grade and eleven from the 11th grade. Nine were male, and eleven
were female students. The response rate for the survey was 95%.
4.3 Material
Regarding the questionnaire, which was developed for the current project (S. Silva & A.
Silva, 2016), we selected:
(i) one multiple choice question; Participants were asked to indicate activities in
which they participate at least once a week.
(ii) two closed-answer items, on a five-point Likert scale (from low to high)
evaluating agreement; Item A = In my communities, I have opportunities to
organise useful initiatives as campaigns and voluntary activities and Item B =
In my community, there are opportunities for young people to participate in
decision-making processes in local governing bodies.
Regarding reliability, the interrater reliability of the items was r = .05, p < .001. Face and
content validity are assured: the items were constructed based on a comprehensive review
of the scale’ that was strengthened by the experience of one of the authors, who conducted
an ethnographic study with young people from border regions of Portugal. This provided
insights into the language and clarity as well as the item structure and response scale used.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and after content analysis, we selected
analytical categories that included aspects related to barriers to and enablers of civic
engagement and political participation of young people. The scripts of these interviews
had as main themes a) knowledge about the school network and the Municipality/region;
b) policies, practices, and youth cultures; c) youth education pathways in relation to the
border regions/rural hinterlands.
Regarding biographical interviews, we selected analytical categories referring to
young people’s understanding of participation and engagement, focusing on barriers and
enablers. These interviews were conducted considering the following topics included in
the script: a) past – advantages and constraints of growing up in border regions; b) present
– living in border regions: educational path, participation habits, opportunities and limits
of participation, current concerns of young people; c) future – future aspirations,
transition to adulthood.
Quantitative data from the questionnaire survey will give a general portrait of youth
participation cultures in this context and provide information about perceptions of
community-based opportunities for their participation. Qualitative data will provide
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 10
insights into young people’s and stakeholders’ perceptions of opportunities for and
barriers to youth participation in these contexts.
4.4 Data Analysis
For quantitative data, univariate normality was assessed (Kline, 2011), and extreme
outliers were not found. Data analysis included descriptive analysis (mean, standard
deviation, frequencies, percentages) and Student’s t-test for independent samples.
Qualitative data analysis also involved frequency counts, distribution, and content
analysis, particularly thematic analysis. First, we performed open coding, followed by
axial coding, in which the coded text units were classified. The categories used in this
article were: “barriers to youth participation”, with the description “aspects that hinder
the participation of young people in their contexts”, and “facilitators of youth
participation”, with the description “aspects that facilitate/promote the participation of
young people in their contexts”.
5 RESULTS
5.1 Opportunities for participation and engagement in border regions:
young people’s experiences and perceptions
In our study, we aimed to understand participation as experienced in diverse spaces that
are part of young people’s everyday lives. We understand participation as situated,
without a hierarchic perspective, and diverse, including traditional or unconventional
configurations that enhance environments for youth voices and representation (Cahill &
Dadvand, 2018).
Table 2 demonstrates the density of young people’s distribution per type of
participation activities. Overall, young people are more engaged in leisure activities and
less in formal political activities. When analysing levels of participation associated with
civic engagement activities, such as volunteering or associations, these outnumber levels
of involvement in traditional forms of participation, usually entailing a longer
involvement. These results seem aligned with trends at the national and international
level (Costa et al., 2022; European Commission, 2022), where the lower values are
associated with traditional forms of participation linked with structured bodies and
political parties.
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 11
Table 2. Frequency distribution per activities in which young people participate at
least once a week
A total of 151 young people involved in groups linked with a political party and 107
young people involved in local political bodies may be seen as low numbers compared to
other activities. However, when placed in context, the numbers gain more relevance as
we refer to young people from 38 rural municipalities, of which only around 20 have a
consultive body (for example, a municipality youth council). A study report on youth
municipal policies from Vieira and Ferreira (2018) indicated a dissymmetry between the
seaside and the inlands of mainland Portugal regarding the distribution of organic
structures exclusively dedicated to youth at the municipal level and revealed that most of
the municipalities located in the inlands do not even have these structures. Thus, this
apparent disengagement may result from a lack of identification of young people with
formal political participation structures (Zukin et al., 2006) or, on the contrary, may be
motivated by a lack of opportunities to participate in more formal structures because
these structures are absent in these regions compared to other regions (Massey, 1994; N.
Silva, Pinheiro, & S. Silva, 2022). This may suggest that social conditions influence how
young people engage in political activities (Metzger et al., 2020). Furthermore, if we
compare the results of civic participation activities with the results of political
participation, we can say that they contradict the view that young people are apathetic
and disengaged (Furlong & Cartmel, 2007; Henn & Ford, 2012).
Disaggregated data by gender show that girls are more engaged in the majority of
participation types, with a focus on civic participation activities and youth associations,
except sports activities and political parties, where boys seem to be more involved.
Previous research indicates that women prefer independent and non-institutionalized
contexts of participation and that girls are more involved in civic and community
engagement and social movements (Gaby, 2017; Stefani et al., 2021).
ACTIVITIES
TOTAL
%
FEMALES
%
MALES
%
Clubs’ sports activities
2567
64.8
1192
46.4
1375
53.6
Cultural events in the region
920
23.2
556
60.5
364
39.5
Volunteer activities
623
15.7
409
65.7
214
34.3
Regional, national and international
youth associations/groups
490
12.4
297
60.6
193
39.4
Animal and/or environment
protection movements
308
7.8
178
57.8
130
42.2
Civic movements, including online
civic initiatives
262
6.6
133
50.8
129
49.2
Groups linked to political parties
151
3.8
62
41
89
58.9
Local political bodies
(Municipal assemblies and youth
councils)
107
2.7
57
53.3
50
46.7
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 12
More young people are involved in movements relating to animal and environmental
protection (7.8%) when compared to civic movements (6.6%), groups linked to political
parties (3.8%) and local political bodies (2.7%). Results from a Eurobarometer survey
suggest a particular interest among the European youth population regarding protecting
the environment and fighting climate change. The majority (76%) of young people from
Portugal that participated in the study selected protecting the environment and fighting
climate change as a priority (European Commission, 2019). Our study showed that young
people from rural areas are also interested in these matters.
Some authors have argued that although rural places may represent additional
constraints to civic engagement and political participation, rural environments may be
facilitators and drivers for civic participation around themes that connect them to their
community (Pritzker & Metzger, 2011). To better understand how young people assess
their communities as places of constraints or facilitators of participation, we analysed two
items of the questionnaire:
Item A = “In my community, I have opportunities to organise useful initiatives such as
campaigns and voluntary activities”.
Item B = “In my community, there are opportunities for young people to participate in
decision-making processes in local governing bodies”.
An analysis of frequencies and percentages (Table 3) suggests that most respondents
have a medium level of agreement with the items, not committing to a clear position.
According to the figures, young people only have a medium level of agreement about the
existence, in their communities, of conditions that promote their civic and political
involvement in aspects such as volunteering or local political participation.
Table 3. Frequency and percentage distribution per item
Item A
Item B
Range
n
%
n
%
1 (low agreement)
379
9.6
603
15.2
2
777
19.6
911
23.0
3
1463
36.9
1400
35.3
4
855
21.5
637
16.1
5 (high agreement)
331
8.3
229
5.8
No Response
163
4.1
188
4.7
Total
3968
100
3968
100.0
An analysis of the average values of the young people’s responses to these items (Table
2) reinforces the moderate agreement levels. These young people moderately agreed that
there are opportunities to organise useful initiatives in their community (M = 3.00; SD =
1.084). In turn, they agree less on opportunities for young people to participate in local
decision-making (M = 2.73; SD = 1.103). These results, when compared to those presented
in the previous table (Table 2), suggest that asymmetries in participation opportunities,
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 13
particularly low agreement with the notion of having opportunities to participate in
decision-making processes, may contribute to low participation among youth (Massey,
1994; N. Silva, Pinheiro, & S. Silva, 2022). Feeling excluded from decisions that affect their
lives in some way may cause these young people to disengage from activities they perceive
as unrepresentative of them and far removed from their reality (Farthing, 2010).
We also found gender differences in the results for both items: girls (compared to boys)
have the highest agreement scores (respectively: t(3802;3761.409) = -2.032; p = .042; t(3777;
3689.890) = -5.630; p < .001).
5.2 Young people’s understandings of opportunities for civic and political
participation: meaningful places to be political
The interviews with young people bring additional clarifications regarding perceived
opportunities. Young people mentioned places where they can be political and voice their
opinions. School is the most mentioned context either because it is where they feel they
may have a role in decision-making processes or because they understand it as the right
place to be involved due to its social relevance in fostering opportunities and promoting
competencies for active citizenship (Pontes et al., 2017):
When something is wrong, we can say it’s wrong and that we want it to change.
And I think that in this aspect it’s good because they are also open to our opinions
because they always want to improve. (Female 11th grade)
I feel that these are good things happening, I like this school regarding the
debates. It allows me to debate. (Male, 10th grade, South)
In this alignment, schools are also arenas “in which political socialisation and learning
are perceived to take place” (Amnå, 2012, p. 618) and can be promoters of civic and
democratic engagement (Biesta & Lawy, 2006). Although schools may be considered “the
least effective in spurring political outcomes” (Quintelier, 2015, p. 65), when compared
with parents, peers, or associations, we found young people considering schools as places
where they expect to participate. It is probably for that reason that young people critique
schools when they feel that they are not creating opportunities for participation:
In terms of teaching, we follow a teaching paradigm that delivers the subject.
There is no space to debate these ideas nor to reflect, which is what is really
missing here. Because there is no discussion about anything, and I think that is
missing, even if it is in class, a space to debate, to reflect. (Male, 11th grade, South)
This aspect referred to by this young male reflects what some authors have been
arguing as the role of schools in influencing political participation through pedagogic
models of teaching and learning (Campbell, 2008; Quintelier, 2010, 2015). The literature
on citizenship education discusses pedagogical models and their influence on the
development of this subject (Biesta, 2011). Citizenship education can provide a space in
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 14
schools for the development of skills for active and participatory citizenship (Menezes &
Ferreira, 2014) if it is not limited to the transmission of knowledge but involves young
people in matters that interest them, and in this sense can strengthen youth participation
(Malafaia, Piedade, Ribeiro, Ferreira, & Menezes, 2022; Pais, 2005).
As discussed, there are changes in how young people understand their political
participation as less constrained by political parties’ structures and ideologies:
I’ve always felt that politics is something that, in my opinion, is not done in the
best way because there are too many labels... And if I agree with this one, I can
no longer agree with that one. I can, but in the eyes of society, it’s already bad in
certain terms. I’m not a label person, I’m an idea person. If I agree with this, I’ll
try to pursue it, if I agree with the other one, I’ll try to pursue it. (Male, 10th grade,
South)
In terms of politics, I don’t know, I’m not really into that, honestly. I don’t like
politics. I wish there was more volunteering because, for example, a friend of
mine is the coordinator of a volunteering project here. (Female, 10th grade,
South)
These may be seen as examples of “active disengagement” (Farthing, 2010, p. 192),
followed by a clear affirmation of willingness to be engaged in meaningful participation
activities (Ferreira et al., 2012a). However, it also indicates that with the right conditions,
young people can become involved in community activism (Farthing, 2010), which would
undoubtedly be political. Moreover, it is expected that young people involved in those
activities will probably become more politically engaged (Quintelier, 2015).
The following reflection points to crucial aspects to consider when developing local
youth policies:
This initiative (from the municipality) had several purposes. The first one was to
get young people’s ideas, to create strategies... There’s nothing better than
listening to them to create better strategies that address their demands.
Distributed in different thematic panels, participants shared their priorities and
drew up a series of actions that were presented and discussed in the Municipal
Executive Board. It was very interesting and innovative in the local context, as it
gave the youth a voice and resulted in a list of creative proposals. It is a pity that
this action was only intermittent and, therefore, the opportunity to consolidate a
culture of youth participation was lost. (Female, University Student, North)
The project mentioned in the last quote was launched by the city hall in 2019 in
collaboration with the municipality's youth and students’ associations to summon young
people to active citizenship and to listen to their concerns and contributions to shaping a
consistent and proactive youth policy.
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 15
5.3 Policymakers’ understandings and actions to support young people’s
civic engagement and participation
When analysing policymakers’ discourses regarding understandings and actions to
overcome global and local obstacles to young people’s engagement and participation, we
found five typologies of responses developed by policymakers to promote youth
participation: Support and motivation for youth-led activities and direct participation in
decisions; Production of knowledge about local youth, for example, through local level
surveys; Promotion/creation of youth-related organisations and bodies; Development of
structured and coordinated policies; Reinforcement and alignment with national-level
policies promoting youth participation.
Municipalities develop participation opportunities to take advantage of the scale, i.e.,
proximity, inherent to micropolitan spaces, as in most rural contexts. Support and
motivation of youth-led activities and direct participation in decisions benefit from that
proximity and include local-based concrete actions to create spaces for young people to
practise leadership and autonomy and to support youth activities and associations.
Also, they don’t have a lack of activities, lack of ideas because, from time to time,
we meet and talk, and in informal meetings we also talk. Things often come up
informally, and then they develop the idea and move on. (Municipality/North)
They may even have a completely surreal idea, but if well worked out, with our
help, we can get somewhere. I think that’s important. (Municipality/Centre)
Developing a diversity of competencies among young people is one of the priorities
referred to by youth-related policymakers at the municipal level. Those competencies are
associated with the capacity to organise activities with autonomy or learn how to become
involved in local governance bodies and sharing responsibilities.
Regarding production of knowledge about local youth, this relates to the capacity to
identify and situate youth problems and priorities, as well as recognise their cultures,
particularly cultures of participation at the local level, new forms of access to political
information, and their tendency to be less willing to have long term commitments (Biner
et al., 2021). Place-based knowledge allows a deep understanding of the most suitable
actions to develop:
Only by meeting and understanding young people's difficulties can we guarantee
these policies of motivating and retaining our youth. (Municipality/North)
We cannot wait for them to come to us, we have to go to them.
(Municipality/South)
We are fully aware that our young people participate in the associations, I am
aware of this. I am in charge of the associations (…), and we have very close
monitoring. Whenever I am called to the associations, I try to be present. I think
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 16
I can say that just a few young people do not belong to any association, and we
have several who belong to two, three… (Municipality/North)
In many cases, such as these, we found bodies of governance that are familiar with the
young population and their experiences and priorities, which may impact on tailoring
measures to promote youth participation on their terms. Active listening may allow a
deeper understanding of young people’s proposals for their engagement in meaningful
civic and political forms of participation:
Another type of opportunity developed by policymakers relates to the
promotion/creation of youth-related organisations and local governance bodies. This is a
relevant practice in promoting civic and political participation not only because it
provides space for youth-led activities and youth leadership but also because the number
of associations is fundamental to creating youth councils at the municipal level. Although
these types of bodies do not depend exclusively on the municipality city council, there are
several contexts where the proactivity of municipalities is crucial:
They participate a lot more, of course, because they already have bodies where
they can act, be heard... And obviously, being elected to these positions, they must
also be active and proactive. They also present various measures, various
suggestions. (Municipality/North)
One important driver which fosters young people’s civic and political participation is
the existence of a youth municipality council. This consultative body gathers local youth
associations and takes part in local matters that interest young people, creating
opportunities to develop competencies and raise awareness about the importance of being
politically active. Youth municipal councils are understood as promoting “civic awareness”
and making their members “feel more comfortable with participating”
(Municipality/Centre).
Young people will leave this experience with the awareness that they can be
useful to the municipality, which can awaken in them a desire to... I don’t know,
to take a more active part in politics, regardless of their party colours.
(Municipality/Centre)
Civic and political participation does not exist without conditions, and municipalities
are the most powerful structure to create or initiate those conditions and can directly
promote “meaningful participation channels for young people” (Binder et al., 2021, p. 245).
The dimension structured and coordinated policies refers to developing an integrated
approach to youth participation and is reflected in planning towards long-term results,
such as raising awareness and monitoring young people’s civic and political engagement.
I had people there, in the programme, who were 9th graders, but there were some
people who were already at University. What is certain is that all of them could
interact, and for me, it was a first test. A kind of work to see the reality from which
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 17
I can start working to do exactly the municipal youth plan: their policies for them.
(Municipality/North)
We always call on them to participate, whether in formal activities within
education or in more cultural activities, and we are now structuring the volunteer
group where they are also getting a lot of expression. (Municipality/South)
Long-term, sound local policies tend to be successful when they are based on an
ecological perspective, i.e., when young people’s lives are understood as a
process that takes place in many ecosystems and when young people’s
development is understood as an integrated process that involves peers, families,
schools, and other local organizations. However, national-level and global
influences, policies and guidelines are also part of that ecology.
The reinforcement and alignment with national-level policies promoting youth
participation is relevant in creating common ground and amplifying multi-level aspects of
governance.
We implemented the Youth Participatory Budget and have already felt more
participation since they can also present projects and have an active intervention
in the municipality’s policies, but mainly in policies addressed to them. We hope
to increasingly try to have these proactive measures with the youth.
(Municipality/North)
Although there are different forms of local appropriation of national and EU-level youth
policies regarding participation, the national initiative Youth Parliament was identified as
an opportunity for young people from these regions to be able to participate in diverse
activities:
We managed to get my school through, and as I happened to be the president, I
also tried to help my colleagues get through. We managed to get the school and
two of our ideas selected. One of our ideas managed to be selected, which was one
of the things I liked the most about participating in this way. (Male, 10th grade,
South)
In these regions, as opportunities to be involved in political and civic participation are
scarcer, these national-level structured initiatives, such as the Youth Parliament or the
Youth Participatory Budget, are important to motivate young people to participate in other
participation forms.
5.4 Constraints on civic and political participation: young people’s
perceptions
The biographical interviews revealed several factors related to lower political
participation among young people. One factor could be that they are not voters and
therefore are not the target audience for politicians to encourage them to participate. This
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 18
is a clear barrier to connecting young people with politics and contributes to the failure to
mobilize already reluctant youth:
Because young people are not voters, nothing is really aimed at them. (...) The
interest that political entities can have in young people when they are not voters...
there’s no point in trying to please them. (Female, 11th grade, North)
This young girl sees the distance between young people and politics not as a
consequence of the young people’s disinterest but rather as a consequence of the fact that
politics distances itself from young people because they are not useful for the
policymakers. This could, as mentioned earlier, point to some reasons why young people
do not participate in formal political activities. Others explain it with the lack of
information about politics and point to the need to learn more about politics:
I think that regarding civic and political participation, we should be better
informed because I’m not saying that there should be a subject in school, but a
kind of club or something like that, where we could be better trained because I
speak for myself that there are certain things that I don’t understand, in terms of
politics, and it would be something that I would like to know because it’s always
necessary to know what’s going on in the country. (Female, 11th grade, South)
This misinformation about politics may contribute to the gap between young people
and political participation, exacerbated by the fact that young people do not feel
represented by or identified with traditional forms of political participation, which sounds
problematic for the future of democracies. This may indicate how organizations, such as
schools, can promote participation and expose young people to opportunities for political
participation (Heiss, Schmuck, & Matthes, 2019).
Specific constraints they have, such as problems related to mobility difficulties or
calendars that are not suitable for young people that live in small villages, also prove to
be a barrier to young people’s participation:
Since I came here to study, I have lost a lot of time; also, because of transportation,
I always lose two hours a day in transportation, and high school is a bit of a grind,
so I ended up giving up participation activities. Outside of school, I would like to
participate in the (political party name) programme, where I basically would go
with them on field trips and just observe how things worked, but they usually
have meetings at times that I can’t go, so... it doesn’t work out either. (Female,
10th grade, North)
So, I didn’t join this project (volunteering project) because it’s complicated to get
rides, and I don’t like to bother my parents all the time; but I would like to be in
such a project in B (the town where she lives). (Female, 10th grade, South)
These last cases seem paradigmatic in rural border regions. Young people are aware of
opportunities to become more active in political participation or social and civic
engagement, but they also point to spatial obstacles, showing that peripheries exist within
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 19
peripheral regions. These examples show that it is necessary to analyse the causes of the
apparent decline in democratic participation among young people and their disinterest in
political participation.
5.5 Constrains to young people’s civic and political participation:
policymakers’ perspectives
We found among policymakers an awareness about why young people are not involved
in civic and political participation that resonates with young people’s perspectives. Results
indicated four types of constraints:
● A distance/gap between young people and local/national governance institutions;
● Weak municipal strategy regarding young people participation;
● Difficulties in developing a solid network of youth associations;
● Region-specific constraints related to mobility or demographics.
Regarding distance/gap between young people and local governance institutions, this
typology includes aspects related to generation and cultural gaps, languages differences
or young people who lack knowledge on how politics and local governance work:
There is a very big gap, a complete divorce, between young people and politics.
So, [in their view] if it’s a political party... then it’s harmful. (Municipality/North)
For me, this is my challenge for the mandate: it is to decrease the gap between
institutions, in this case, the municipality and the young people in the community.
We don’t communicate in the same language. (…). I feel that young people are
interested, participative, and easily involved in things, but there is a big problem
here that I have identified at the level of the municipality – not only this
municipality but also the state-level organisations – which is the distance that
exists, the gap that exists, between what is the institution – who represents the
institutions – and young people. (Municipality/South)
This gap may explain why politicians are somehow unable to comprehend changes
influencing young people’s lives, such as privileged access to new forms of political
participation through the Internet or new youth cultures or lifestyles (Binder et al., 2021).
However, as the last extract allows us to understand, young people are understood as
interested and willing to get involved.
As mentioned by Binder et al. (2021), “traditional political actors have not kept up with
other societal actors in adapting their political communication” (p. 234), failing in what
those authors consider to be the cognitive mobilization of young people, contrary to other
contexts, such as online, which provides instant information and connection. This fact
finds parallel discourses from municipalities when referring to what extent young people
know local policies, particularly regarding youth:
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 20
It’s funny because the survey we applied to young people was the year before last,
and one of the questions we asked was whether they were aware of the
municipality’s policies to support young people and: no, they were not.
(Municipality/North)
The barriers related to a weak strategy regarding young people’s participation include
lack of support for initiatives and proposals for young people, unstructured opportunities
and the inexistence of municipal level bodies to participate in, misunderstandings about
youth participation and the pre-eminence of top-down initiatives. Some municipalities
refer to barriers coming from top-down initiatives and not considering young people’s
interests:
They (young people) wanted to organise a youth festival and if you didn’t leave
here to go and talk to them, you didn’t go to the schools, you didn’t go to the bars,
you didn’t go where they are. (Municipality/South)
Some municipalities, when asked about youth participation, tended to refer to activities
usually promoted at the national level and to be implemented at the local level, such as
the OTL – Free Time Activities [Ocupação de Tempos Livres] – or to activities that are
organized by local entities which are not related to young people. They also tended to
speak as if they were external and not active players in the promotion of young people
engagement:
They always participate in those projects of the Portuguese Institute of Youth and
Sport, of OTL, and they also always have those projects... They have a partnership
with the international music festival that also takes place here during the
summer... In terms of active citizenship, they are more dynamic, but it’s more the
cultural side. (Municipality/South)
I think young people are a little unmotivated. I don’t know if it’s because they
don’t want to have work, because everything is work. Everything is hard work,
and we must leave some things behind to dedicate ourselves to it, but it was...
there are associations, the football club, the fishing club, the hunting club, the
mountain biking association that is also very dynamic, they go on many walks,
but they are more focused on mountain biking, bicycles... it’s all more for the
sport. (Municipality/South)
Difficulties in developing a solid network of associations are visible in bureaucratic
procedures necessary to create an association and lack of continuity of youth association
board members. Some difficulties mentioned by municipalities regard the national
registration procedures of youth associations and the low number of youth associations
has an impact on the existence or not of youth-related bodies with a seat in local
governance:
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 21
A few days ago, I was talking to a young man, and he also told me some things
that turn out to be true, which as: the fact that the criteria of the RENAJ, the
national registry, are so tight and so demanding that they end up hindering the
process itself. (Municipality/North)
The weak existence, the little existence of youth associations in the municipality,
there are very few. (Municipality/Centre)
Concerning the low number of youth associations are also region-specific constraint,
namely the low percentage of the youth population. This is a structural problem regarding
depopulation in many of these regions with an impact on the capacity of municipalities to
act and invest:
We already tried to create more youth-related activities, but as we thought that
(city name) didn’t have it at the time but, in terms of youth, it doesn’t have that
relevance because we have few young people, and we opted not to dynamise it.
(Municipality/North)
Additionally, mobility constraints associated with geographic distance from places
where more activities could take place are obstacles to youth participation and restrain
municipalities from organizing activities that might not have attendance:
What is certain is that there is a lack of activities for young people. (…) What
happens is that these young people who live outside the city have no means to
come here and be engaged in activities unless the council provides them with
transportation. (Municipality/South)
The quantity is what it is, the territory is what it is, the numbers are what they
are, but promoting activities for young people… Promoting a bad activity for
young people in a big city always goes well. Promoting an excellent initiative for
young people here won’t go well because the result was not good... It wasn’t good,
because few people came, which limited us a bit... (Municipality/Centre)
The limited possibility of having formal associations, the high risk of failing when
promoting youth-centred activities, and the existence of unclear spaces where young
people may be active and contribute are clear, intersected barriers to young people’s
participation. The snowball effect of these factors is that youth participation is considered
a box-ticking exercise or is defined ambiguously, and all that remains are adult-led
initiatives, which are on a small scale. Moreover, because youth policies are mainly
framed by national-level legislation, local-level specificities may represent a challenge for
implementation and ensuring the effectiveness of those policies is left to the goodwill or
willingness of local authorities (Walther et al., 2021).
Rural border regions seem to be less equipped at the resources level and, in some cases,
at the mindset level to develop more sensitive youth policies. We found, however,
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 22
promising approaches which seem to be activating and supporting opportunities for
young people’s participation.
6 CONCLUSION
The reluctance of young people to be involved in traditional political participation is well
documented (Bennett, 2008; Henn & Foard, 2012). Often blamed for contributing to the
crisis of democracy, they are portrayed as lacking interest and uninformed about political
affairs (Putnam, 2000). Traditional approaches to studying and interpreting young
people’s political and civic engagement are polarizing, for example, the dealignment
hypothesis (Binder et al., 2021); the disengagement paradigm (Farthing, 2010); the
paradigm that posits young people as active in other forms of political activity or
understands this disengagement as a new lifestyle (Binder et al., 2021; Farthing, 2010).
Farthing (2010) considers that this conceptualization fails at providing an accurate
explanation about young people’s political engagement as it requires one “to acknowledge
that both engagement and disengagement are simultaneously occurring as young people
navigate an entirely new world” (p. 182).
Although local policymakers identify obstacles to young people’s disengagement, some
perspectives consider young people as citizens in the making. While policymakers identify
relevant obstacles to participation based on a polarized vision of political participation,
which is still dominant, young people are pointing to a lack of palpable opportunities to
participate in political activities that are meaningful for them. Nevertheless, local
policymakers are willing to avoid adult-centric approaches in some contexts. Moreover,
they are identifying and enacting forms of empowering young people from a situated
approach, that is, considering their perspectives and appropriating youth policies from a
local standpoint.
Our contribution explored portraits of civic and political participation among young
people growing up in the rural border regions of mainland Portugal. We presented
constraints on and facilitators to civic participation from local policymakers’ and young
people’s perspectives. Some views were aligned between these two stakeholders, namely
concerning distance from traditional forms of political participation and a communication
gap that prevents young people from being closer to policies that affect them directly.
Context-specific barriers were mentioned by both groups of participants, such as
difficulties in being mobile and accessing spaces to be vocal, active and becoming more
engaged in associations and volunteering.
Although young people are less involved in traditional forms of political participation,
there are clear signs of other types of civic engagement and of being political. We found
examples of young people being engaged, disengaged or unpolitical (Farthing, 2010).
Understanding young people’s interests in different forms of civic and political
participation may promote their re-engagement in formal politics, which is fundamental
to democracy.
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 23
These results, indicating that young people are engaged in a diversity of forms of
participation, may challenge the disengaged paradigm constructed from an adult-centric
standpoint, grounded on a limited understanding of youth participation which is often
interpreted from a condescending perspective (Furlong & Cartmel, 2012; Norris, 2004).
Farthing (2010) calls attention to the fact that the theory of disengagement failed to explain
what seems to be a general observation in this study: young people’s involvement in
volunteerism and other forms of civic engagement.
Some contexts in border regions already understood that it is important to recognize
young people as being political on their terms by changing the narrowed concept of
politics (Farthing, 2010; Manning, 2013) and critically fostering quality participation
experiences (Ferreira et al., 2012a). We agree that “undermining the legitimacy of young
people’s new political forms is yet another way of silencing their voice in society”
(Farthing, 2010, p. 187).
Many contributions have pointed out that schools are a favourable context for civic and
citizenship education because of the diversity of learning spaces that foster relevant civic
competencies (Biesta, 2011; Ribeiro & Menezes, 2022). As shown in this article, young
people expect schools to provide opportunities for participation beyond the curriculum,
such as problem-based programs or engaging students in community-based projects, so
meaningful experiences should be encouraged in this context. Moreover, it seems
important that citizenship education also considers new forms of youth participation, both
in its curricular component and overall school concept.
However, although the findings indicate that young people recognize school as the
default place of participation, the fact is that citizenship education and the development
of cultures of participation are dependent on a variety of quality experiences from non-
formal, informal and formal education contexts (Queiroz & Menezes, 2013; Rodrigues et
al., 2019).
This study demonstrated that local and regional environments, municipalities and
schools in particular, remain relevant contexts for initiatives; however, they are contexts
where young people still do not have much room for manoeuvre.
Fostering meaningful participation experiences thus seems to depend more on an
enabling ecosystem in which schools, municipalities and other social contexts are
intentionally involved in creating high-quality opportunities for youth engagement.
However, to achieve this, it is necessary to ensure the development and implementation
of more decentralized and informed policies related to the specificities of young people’s
lives in the different regions of the country through the collaboration of local and national
decision-making sectors, as well as the participation of other non-state actors. This can be
achieved by ensuring that schools, municipalities, and other local structures, particularly
nongovernmental stakeholders such as families and young people, develop collaborative
mechanisms for designing and implementing situated policies at the regional level that
encourage the inclusion of young people in the lives of their communities as full partners
in co-designing solutions (M. Silva et al., 2022). Moreover, the opportunities created for
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 24
young people need to resonate with their interests, be attentive to new forms of
participation, and foster opportunities for young people to be represented and engaged in
decision-making in formal politics.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through
the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL
2020 Partnership Agreement, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology,
IP (FCT) [grant no. POCI-01-0145- FEDER-029943 / PTDC/CED-EDG/29943/2017] (SMS); the
Portuguese Government, through the FCT, under CIIE’s multi-annual funding [grants no.
UID/CED/00167/2019, UIDB/00167/2020 and UIDP/00167/2020] (CIIE). Ana Milheiro Silva
was supported by the FCT and by the European Social Fund through the Human Capital
Operational Programme (POCH) from PORTUGAL 2020 [grant no. PD/BD/128118/2016].
Nicolas Martins Silva was supported by the FCT and the European Social Fund through the
Human Capital Operational Programme (POCH) from PORTUGAL 2020 [grant no.
SFRH/BD/143733/2019].
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Sofia Marques da Silva, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and
Education Sciences and a full member of the Centre for Research and Intervention in
Education (CIIE-FPCEUP) at the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Her research interests
relate to research methodologies, place-based education, youth, sense of belonging and
regional development, resilient schools, and communities.
JSSE 3/2023 Young People’s Participation in Portuguese Border Regions 30
Nicolas Martins da Silva, PhD student in Education Sciences at the Centre for Research
and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University
of Porto (CIIE-FPCEUP), Porto, Portugal. His research interests relate to citizenship
education, youth participation, curricular contextualisation, territory in education and
mixed methods.
Sara Arezes, Bachelor’s student in Economics at the University of Minho, taking a one-
year Erasmus mobility in the University of West Bohemia. Her main fields of interest are
development economics, political economy and economic history. She's currently
developing a Bachelor Thesis on the Eurocentric narratives conveyed by Portuguese
history textbooks, approaching the topic from an institutional economics perspective to
stress the legacy of the colonial past on nowadays countries' prosperity.
Paulo Sérgio Martins, Degree in Philosophy, is a secondary school philosophy teacher
with 27 years of teaching experience. He has taught in schools in the border regions of
mainland Portugal. He currently teaches at the Dr Vieira de Carvalho School in Maia,
Portugal.
Sara Faria, PhD candidate of the Doctoral Program in Psychology at the Faculty of
Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP) and a research
fellow at the Center for Educational Research and Intervention (CIIE/FPCEUP). She has
been carrying out research activities in Psychology related projects and in projects in the
areas of youth and education. Her research interests mainly relate to applying statistical
data analysis procedures and quantitative methodology in areas such as mental health
and education.
Vitor Dias, Degree in Education Sciences, has been the Regional Director of the
Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth, I.P. (North Delegation) since February 2017.
Ana Milheiro Silva, PhD student at the Doctoral Programme in Education Sciences –
Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto. Her research
interests are mixed methods, youth studies, educational pathways, resilient schools,
border regions, equity, social justice and quality in education. She is a member of the
Center for Research and Intervention in Education. Actually, she works as a science
manager at the Rectory of the University of Porto.
