Civil Society through the Lifecourse

Description

A unique charting of civic engagement and political participation across an individual's life course, this book draws on a range of empirical data, including cross-sectional analysis, longitudinal data and interviews. Are young people blindly self-interested? How does university shape students' political participation? Can busy parents and grandparents find time to volunteer? Challenging conventional thinking, leading academics explore how individuals' relationships with civil society change over time as different life-course events and stages trigger and hinder civic engagement. Drawing on personal narratives, longitudinal cohort studies and national surveys, this unprecedented study considers rarely examined aspects of civic engagement including school students' sense of social responsibility and the charitable legacy bequests of elderly people and highlights the significant implications for those promoting greater civic and political participation.

Sally Power is Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University and Director of WISERD. Her research interests focus on the relationship between education, civil society and inequality.

"A fascinating. theoretically-informed and interdisciplinary study offering nuanced insights into how participation in civil society is constrained and facilitated by life events." Irene Hardill, Northumbria University "Experts in the field add new insights to two related, but as yet, unconnected fields of research. A welcome and robust contribution to the discussion." Eric Lybeck, The University of Manchester "An original contribution and timely collection of evidence on activity in the third sector, from school to making a legacy, via triggers and obstacles to participation at various points in adult life." Heather Joshi, UCL Institute of Education