Slovenská spoločnosť pre výskum mládeže

• Pridané:Jún 22, 2006
• Komentáre:Žiadny komentár
• Kategória:UP2YOUTH Slovensko

Survey n°1
Working Group: SLOVAKIA
Your Name: MACHACEK LADISLAV

Title of the study: EYI -The Orientations of Young Men and Women to Citizenship and European Identity

Authors (who are they): Lynne Jamieson(UK) and all (Claire Wallace-Austria, Klaus Bohnke-Germany, Ladislav Macháček, Barbara Lašticová, Gabriel Bianchi (Slovakia)

Relevance for Working Group:

The study's main two focuses were:Orientations towards European identity – "the salience and meanings of 'being European' versus more personal, local, regional and national identities in the everyday worlds of strategically selected samples of young people. Orientations towards citizenship – "particularly the extent of emphasis on social obligations and civic participation, entitlements of birth and ethnicity, nation-based or ethnicity-based citizenship, inclusion or exclusion, tolerance or chauvinism and racism."It also looked at factors encouraging particular types of European identity and citizenship, the role of citizenship education and attitudes towards mobility, migration and racism.

Research Question(s):

The project set out to provide insights into young adults' orientations towards European identity, their feelings of being European, and their sense of European citizenship.

Methodology (Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative data, no. Of respondents etc.):

Men and women aged 18-24 were selected as the subjects of the research, allowing a gender comparison and a focus on "new citizens" – the youngest group of adults with the voting rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The nations and regions studied were deliberately chosen for their contrasting histories in terms of local nationalism and support for the project of the European Union. Within those nations and regions, a target sample was selected of young men and women oriented towards a "European" career, and a representative sample of young men and women was selected from all career paths and socio-economic backgrounds. The target sample was a more highly educated group because they were identified through career paths such as studying European law or European languages, which potentially orient young people towards Europe. The methods of data collection included a survey gathering quantitative data, and a smaller number of qualitative interviews. Interviewees were selected according to their answers to a survey question measuring strength of feeling about 'being European' on a scale of 0-4 from 'no feeling at all' (0) to 'very strong feeling' (4). It was decided to focus on young people from both extremes in order to maximise the possibility of comparison.

Status (running, date for completion): 30.09.1997 – 29.09.2000

Results:

Asked to rate the importance of various factors in "how you feel or think about yourself as a person", young people across all the sites placed most importance on interpersonal relations. Overall, European citizenship and national and regional identities were much less important, although there were regional variations.

In Germany (Bielefeld and Chemnitz) and Prague, almost-two thirds of respondents felt strongly about being European. Such feelings were at their lowest in Spain and the UK. In Bilbao, Manchester and Edinburgh, less than a third of the representative samples felt this way. Strong feelings about nation-state identity were most common among both representative and target samples in Prague and Bratislava, where almost 90% said they felt strongly about being Czech and Slovak. Equivalent feelings about Spain were claimed by only 30% of respondents from Bilbao, again with little difference between representative and target samples. "Regional-national identity" was important for residents of Edinburgh, Manchester and Vorarlberg. 64% of residents of Chemnitz felt strongly about being "East German" compared to only 41% of residents of Bielefeld who felt strongly about being "West German".Target samples of young people on Europe-oriented careers did sometimes differ significantly from the representative samples. Across all sites, higher rates of feeling European were noted among the target samples; variations between localities were muted but not eliminated.The project found that:Identification with the EU was associated with state-related identity even in those localities where regional-national identity was more important for respondents.Two main patterns of identification with 'Europe' emerged in the discourse of respondents: first, an automatic acceptance of 'being European' as an outcome of nested categories (region-in-nation-in-Europe); secondly, identification with Europe as subordinated to the predominant national identity. Both allowed compatibility between European and national identities but rarely produce passionate Europeans. Claims of incompatibility were grounded on exclusive nationalist discourses and on the perception of conflict between EU policy and the (more valued) country's own interests.European identity was still under construction and could be strengthened by increasing the number of young people's personal experiences with the EU (travel, employment mobility, learning languages and educational exchanges).

The construction of the EU, as a shared social category, was also reinforced by the perception of the EU as an independent social and political actor, for example, resisting the invasion of Iraq.
However, it was also clear that "there can be no single policy or way of committing resources that would guarantee the pervasive development of a European identity."

Publications (type of publication, language):

Macháček L. and Lášticová, B. (2003). Orientations of young People from Bratislava and Prague to Citizenship and European Identity. Sociológia, 53(3), 247-266.

Macháček L Youth in Slovakia and European Identity,SI SASC,Bratislava 2004,

Access to raw data for secondary analysis (yes/no?):

Yes, national sample of Slovakia in SPSS.

• Pridané:Jún 22, 2006
• Komentáre:Žiadny komentár
• Kategória:UP2YOUTH Slovensko

Case study n°4
Working Group: SLOVAKIA
Your Name: MACHACEK LADISLAV

Title of the study: Review of Youth Policy -Slovaks National report for EK

Authors (who are they): Jan Šípoš, Lubica Sobihardova, Ladislav Macháček at all (Slovakia)

Relevance for Working Group:

The following document is a summarizing report, which is a result of cooperation of various experts in the field of youth and youth policy in the Slovak Republic. The report is a complex document monitoring important aspects of young people's lives in the Slovak Republic. It informs about the conditions, problems and future prospects in the field of policy towards youth. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity for the citizens of other countries to understand Slovak youth policy structure and its future development possibilities.

Research Question(s):

The aim of the National Report is to give answers to questions; such as how positive is the approach of contemporary society towards children and youth, what avenues to innovation the national policy should pursue, what the role of national policy towards children and youth can be in the context of national development and how can governmental and non-governmental organisations as well as individuals get involved in the national policies concerning children and youth.

Methodology (Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative data, no. of respondents etc.)

Thus, this document is based on a broad discussion of various experts from governmental as well as nongovernmental organisations, reflecting up-to-date theoretical knowledge and practical experiences. Preparation of the National The discussions showed how different the views of the situation, problems and challenges in various areas of young people's lives were. The public discussion on individual chapters has been going on also on the Internet since December 2003 on the website www.spravaomladezi.sk. Current information about the current phase of development of the National Report can also be found on this website. Several discussions, seminars, consultations and workshops have been held with experts and representatives of non-governmental organisations during the preparation process of the National Report. Their aim was to discuss the relevancy of the content of the Report.

Status (running, date for completion):

Report was launched in 2003, when the Government of the Slovak Republic adopted the project proposal and approved the Project Board of this document on 5 June 2003. Slovak the Ministry of Education, Department of Children and Youth is the guarantor of the project and the organization Iuventa carried the responsibility for the organisational management of the project and the review process. In the initial preparation phase (November 2003 – January 2004) several focus discussions on individual chapters of the National Report were held with experts, members of associations and the public.

Results:

Participation is Youth Policy Instruments in the Slovak Republic.Civic participation is a term, thad started to be used in Slovakia more frequently in the early 1990s. The concept of civic participation was quickly adopted mainly by non-governmental organisations, because it was changing the perception of the role of the citizens from passive recipients to active initiators of change. Participation is often associated with a broad social, political and civic dimension. It is often understood in our country as the engagement in associations, membership in civic associations or participation on elections and political life, while others envisage its realisation through the organisation of petitions or participation of young people on decision-making processes or public discussions. There also exists a broader view of civic participation, viewing it as being broader than participation in decision-making, but more generally as the process of the creation of an active citizen with an active role in the formation of the social environment at local, national and European level. The stredent political changes taking place in November 1989 brought the introduction of a democratic system with favourable conditions for the formation and development of the civic society, which found its reflection in the development of the youth movement. The conditions for youth participation radically changed. According to new legislation (Act No. 83/1990 Coll.), the creation of an association was not subject to an approval process anymore, which was replaced by the act of registration under the precondition of adherence to the conditions defined by valid legislation. Youth was freed from a paternalistic state control, which was imposed during the communist regime, but simultaneously lost the broad state support which was available in the past. This resulted in a broadening of opportunities and in a greater freedom of choice, while the accessibility of counselling, support services and other forms of assistance decreased. The postcommunist liberalisation lead to a rather incisive restructuralising of the transfer from youth to adulthood and an accumulation of risks and insecurity with regard to the access of young people to education, employment, leisure time activities and politics. This period of transformation brought difficulties for young people in the process of cultural self-expression and also in the area of securement of financial resources. Net income of the young people decreased, family household budgets became poorer and the property of youth organisations meant to provide for the leisure activities of young people which was further developed during communism (for example youth clubs, recreational establishments etc.), either ceased to exist or was nontransparently privatised. Research from this period points to a growing inclination of youth towards a consumption-oriented lifestyle. Participatory youth activities in the nineties were aimed at differing goals, ranging from the influencing of a policy in the parliamentary elections to the creation of structures for youth participation at local level, from the encouragement of creativity in science and art to environmental activities. Many youth structures suddenly erupted. They quickly formed and spontaneously dissolved after the finalisation of one or several projects. Thus the governmental institutions recommended the formation of more stable structures with a long-term strategy. This was not to be conducted through the denial of the role of non-formal groups in the phase of initial involvement of young people into specific activities.

Publications (type of publication, language):

Národná správa o situácii mládeže a mládežníckej politike v SR, MS SR,Bratislava 2004,152 s.  English and Slovak lanquages

See also: www.iuventa.sk or www.syrs.org

Access to raw data for secondary analysis (yes/no?):

Yes.

• Pridané:Jún 22, 2006
• Komentáre:Žiadny komentár
• Kategória:UP2YOUTH Slovensko

Case study n°3
Working Group: SLOVAKIA
Your Name: MACHACEK LADISLAV

Title of the study: Questionnaire on youth participation in Slovakia

Authors (who are they): Jan Šípoš and ¼ubica Sobihardova (Slovakia)

Relevance for Working Group:

These two separate questionnaires were drawn up using the same approach and with the same general structure, first gathering basic information, then an outline of current policy with examples of best practice, and, finally, details of expectations at European level. Countries were also asked to specify the channels used nationally for consulting young people. While the way in which the questions were handled differed from one country to another depending on the national situation of youth policy and the nature of youth involvement, the replies in terms of information supplied, ideas and proposals put forward and examples of good practice provided a fertile and interesting basis for this working paper. The purpose of this report is to present a synoptic analysis of the replies to the questionnaire as a basis for proposing common objectives in the area of participation and information for adoption by the Council. For each theme, the replies are broken down into three main areas, preceded by explanatory factual information.

Research Question(s):

For the questionnaire on participation, the three main areas are: participation by young people in local community life, participation by young people in institutional systems of representative democracy, and education for active participation.
The three main areas for the information questionnaire are: access to information, quality of information for young people and participation by young people in producing and disseminating the information.

Methodology (Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative data, no. Of respondents etc.)

Experts questionnaire with 30 questions

Status (running, date for completion): Data completion in Slovakia 15.12.2002

The replies from the candidate countries have been incorporated into the analysis for the 15 Member States, including Slovakia.

Results:

In formal education the integration of subjects as citizenship education or social and political education is an important means of teaching young people about participation and in some Member States it is part of their official school curricula.
Schools remain in all Member States a place where participation plays the most important role in learning to participate; nevertheless, it sometimes remains a theoretical issue of curricula instead of a good practice to experience participation in everyday life in schools. In most countries, elections for School and University Councils offer pupils the opportunity to learn to participate through "learning by doing".
In the non-formal sector, a wide range of activities provide possibilities for learning and practising participation; in some Member States, pilot projects play an important role in learning how to participate and in finding innovative and new solutions for better participation strategies.

Publications (type of publication, language):

1. Analysis of Member States' replies to the Commission questionnaires on youth participation and information, Brussels, 11.4.2003 SEC(2003) 465 COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER (MS Word)

2. Questionnaires on Particiaption and Information in Slovakia .IUVENTA,Bratislava 2002,30 p. See:www.syrs.org English and Slovak lanquages (MS Word)

3. Basic information (MS Word)

Access to raw data for secondary analysis (yes/no?):

Yes.