Citizenship and a Young Person: Expected and Unexpected Aspects

Abstract

The discussion is focused on critical analysis of sources, with an emphasis on analysis of the contents of a concept of democracy and the role of citizens in relation to democracy, also the findings of international agencies on the state of democracy in Lithuania and the Ukraine are presented. Some of the empiric findings from an international survey, specifically the findings that responses of almost 400 respondents in Lithuania contributed to, are presented. Comparing, contrasting and synthesis of theoretical considerations, recent statistical data and the survey data enable identification of the important and vivid and sometimes at the margins of attention in young persons’ democracy perception. The contents of this perception may add new nuances to the picture of citizenship and democracy and, thus, expectations and role for an educator. The paper is based on the part of the data (from Lithuania, collected in 2019); though some comparisons with the data collected by the team members in other countries, including from the Ukraine, are also provided. Due to the recent realities of 2022, the part of results presented there (Zuzevičiūtė, Krzywosz-Rynkiewicz, 2022), are imbedded in a broader discussion on democracy and citizenship in this paper, when the changes in geopolitical arena, particularly in the light of the Ukrainian’s experiences, called for a reconsideration and re-evaluation of seemingly agreed upon dimensions, e.g., increasing importance of citizenship education and educator’s role.