130
Zeynep Demirci
Abstract
In its broadest sense, citizenship is a concept of living together, a responsibility and solidarity spirit,
an access to rights and their use. The concept of active citizenship means that the individual has the
knowledge and skills to participate to the civil society’s life, education and activities that take place
at local, national or international platforms, voluntary services to society and to the state and the use
of democratic rights.
Nowadays, the concept of national citizenship maintains its validity and individual-state relations
become increasingly important in the context of obedience and responsibility. Education constitutes
a very important place in the creation of responsible individuals, who are affectively attached to the
state and prioritize common interests but act at the same time with free conscience. The conscience
of citizenship is a phenomenon that is developed through the interaction between individuals and
state. Education and practices for citizenship on the one hand will help young people understanding
the core values and ideas of the citizenship concept and on the other hand, through education for
citizenship, the youth can have necessary attitudes for the internalization of these values and their
necessary acquisition.
The aim of this study is to demonstrate the basic view of education and practices for citizenship
in the participation of the youth to the society as active citizens. In society, by the ways active
citizenship is strengthened through responsibility, the development of ethical and social values in
the relations established with others, solidarity within the community, solidarity in the context of
state relations with “rights and responsibilities” of citizens and the development of youth skills and
achievements in civic life will be discussed.
Therefore, in this research the concept and scope of citizenship will be examined firstly, then the
youth’s citizenship education and the efficiency of the activities and projects will be discussed. At
the end, we will talk about the ways of youth collective participation in social life as active citizens.
Keywords:
Citizenship, Active Citizenship, Citizenship Education, Youth.
Giriş
Yurttaşlık eğitiminden bahsederken, öncelikle belirtilmesi gereken, yurttaşlık kavramının
karmaşık ve çok yönlü bir ifadeye sahip olduğudur. Avrupa Konseyi’nde yurttaş (citoyen)
ve yurttaşlık (citoyenneté) kavramlarının tek bir tanımı yoktur ve bu kavramlar belirsizliğini
korumaktadır (Bodeving, 2009, s.4). En genel ifadeyle, siyasal yurttaşlık, bireyin hak ve
görevlerini, sosyal yurttaşlık, toplum içindeki liyakat ve dayanışmayı, kültürel yurttaşlık,
kültürel miras bilincini, ekonomik yurttaşlık ise iş dünyası ile kurulan ilişkileri ifade etmek-
tedir (Bodeving, 2009, s.8).
Yurttaşlık her şeyden önce, belirli bir siyasi toplulukta sivil, siyasal, sosyal, ekonomik ve
kültürel bakımdan eşit haklara sahip olmayı sağlayan yasal bir statüyü ifade eder ve bu
yasal statü aynı zamanda bireye iktidara katılma, karar verme ve karar verici mekaniz-
maların denetimini sağlama işlevlerini kazandırır. Bununla birlikte yurttaşlık, genel olarak
sorumluluklar ve yükümlülükler bağlamında bireyin ait olduğu grubun çıkarlarını sivil giri-
şimcilik ile savunmasını olanaklı kılan rol ve edinimleri de ifade eden sosyal bir küme ola-
