From Inquiry to Impact

Constance Flanagan

Youth Engagement, Social Trust and the Future of Democracy

See presentation online

About the topic

Social trust reflects our faith in humanity—our belief that people, in general, are fair and trustworthy. This belief is vital to democracy because people who have faith in others are more likely to pitch in for the common good –to volunteer in their communities, vote in elections, and help others in need. This presentation will focus on the role of youth engagement in nurturing social trust in younger generations and in fostering the future of democracy.

Additional reading on this topic

• Trust, Identity and Civic Hope (153.1K PDF) - by Constance Flanagan, Applied Developmental Science, 2003.
• Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study Sixth Annual Report: Young People’s Civic Participation In and Beyond School - Attitudes, Intentions and Influences, Department for Children, Schools and Families (UK) — Focuses on young people’s civic participation in and outside of school, and draws on a longitudinal survey of students age 15 to 16 in 75 schools.
• CELS - The Citizenship Educational longitudinal study, National Foundation for Educational Research (UK)

About Constance Flanagan

Constance Flanagan is a professor of youth and civic development in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State University.

• She is a leading expert in the area of adolescent civic and political development.
• Her program of work, “Adolescents and the social contract” focuses on the ways that young people interpret the rights and obligations individuals and societies owe one another.
• Her presentation will focus on research about the developmental correlates of social trust.
• She earned her PhD in developmental psychology at the University of Michigan.

About the Event

Hosts: The Center for Youth Development’s Howland Symposium, Youth Engagement Symposium Series, and Applied Research and Evaluation, in conjunction with the Applied Research Collaborative.

Date/Place: Nov. 18, 2008, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Questions or comments?

Contact Ann Lochner at (612) 624-8190 or lochn006@umn.edu

Constance Flanagan - Youth Engagement, Social Trust and the Future of Democracy

About the Learning Series

Sponsored by the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development, these events are planned and hosted by the Center’s Research and Evaluation Unit in partnership with the Applied Research Collaborative on Youth Development (ARCYD).

ARCYD is a network of researchers, evaluators and policy leaders dedicated to generating applied research that bridges research findings with policy solutions for youth.