Moving Beyond Fundraising and Into ... What? Youth Transitions into Higher Education and Citizenship Identity Formation

In the structured environment of secondary school, young people are often supported by teachers to get involved in causes relating to international aid and development. Beyond school there is often less structural support for such involvement, and new environments may result in their reassessment of personal and collective social action. This article reports on a pilot study that explored how young people conceptualised social action as they moved into higher education. This transition led to a heightened reflexivity about their own and other young people’s citizenship identities, now that they had to craft these by themselves, and often involved more critical and reflective citizenship actions. What is salient for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) interested in maintaining relationships with young people is that as they mature beyond school, young people may be rethinking their role within the development sector. Social action may start to mean more than fundraising and short-term projects and may include a deeper and more holistic approach to being a global citizen.