Promoting the Development of Citizenship in Diverse Youth

Part of a special section on developmental perspectives on civic education. A summary and review of a research program started at the Applied Developmental Psychology Program at Fordham University on the political views of youth. The research program analyzes youth's political attitudes and socialization experiences in order to find a "hook" to redirect youth attention and interest to citizenship. The research has revealed that some youth are concerned about such political issues as poverty, reflecting a concern for other persons, others are concerned about issues that represent a conservative morality, and others are interested in political issues concerning self-protection.