SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT? HOW YOUNG PEOPLE CONCEPTUALIZE CONVENTIONAL AND VIRTUAL CITIZENSHIP IN RELATION TO CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

Abstract

The development of new technology blurs the line between reality and the virtual world. The extent to which this process influences citizenship should be investigated. The aim of this study was to explore the way in which young people, who have recently acquired formal civil rights, conceptualize the phenomena of citizenship and virtual citizenship in the context of citizenship education. An online study was conducted among 145 Polish university students aged 18–23 (71% females). The Associative Group Analysis (AGA) approach that supports qualitative and quantitative analyses was used to collect associative constructs and conceptualize the studied phenomena. The results indicate that citizenship is perceived in the collective-state dimension with strong nationalist and patriotic undertones. Virtual citizenship is an individual-interpersonal concept that is associated with membership in the global community.