Out-of-School Youth Civic Engagement in the Microcosm of Society

Abstract

The youth sector is at the heart of society; they can inspire social change. Out-of-school youth leads the global crisis of declining youth engagement. Past investigations linked the problem to apathy and that the out-of-school youth is an underserved sector without the means to activate their agency effectively. The advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution put in place new platforms where typologies of civic engagement are carried out, and there are external and internal factors that influence these. As the barangay reflects the larger Philippine society, this study examined the typologies of civic engagement that Filipino out-of-school youth participate in both in the traditional and non-traditional settings, the factors that influence their civic engagement participation, and their perceived significance of civic engagement. The study operated on a mixed-method design, which combined quantitative and qualitative research design elements to answer the research questions. The findings show that the modern youth manifested their intense participation in diverse social activities through digital civic engagement; they value civic engagement; they have a comprehensive understanding of what is happening around them; and they are conscious of their role and willing to do what they can to enrich their communities. To enhance the brewing potentials of their transformative character, existing public and private institutional mechanisms, programs, and networks must be strengthened and/or new ones created and explored geared towards fostering a more inclusive and healthy development of the out-of-school youth. The future promise of any nation can be directly measured by the present prospects of its youth.