"A rite of passage?": The National Citizen Service and the Geographies of Youth Citizenship

本研究项目考察了英国国家公民服务（NCS）背后的国家动机、第三部门参与以及年轻人的经历。NCS是一项针对16至17岁青少年的自愿暑期计划，由一系列慈善机构、私营部门合作伙伴和青年组织提供。自2011年启动以来，已有64,500名年轻人参加了NCS，该计划的目标是到2014年将覆盖90,000名青少年。该方案包括一系列社会行动项目，在当地社区和一个住宿营地志愿服务。利用NCS作为案例研究，并在青年公民发展的历史背景下定位这一新方案，这一原创研究项目解决了关于国家、公民社会和第三部门的及时和政策相关的辩论，并显著推进了关于公民身份、非正规教育、青年和志愿服务的知识。该项目涉及以下研究问题：RQ1。在过去的三十年中，英国青年公民培训计划的目标和空间构成是什么？与NCS相比，这些目标和空间构成如何？在NCS框架内如何理解“好”和“问题”青年和家庭？ NCS计划以何种方式寻求在地方、国家和全球范围内吸引年轻人？自2011年以来，青年服务提供者和志愿者提供NCS的动机和经验是什么？自2011年以来，年轻人参与NCS的动机、经历和结果是什么？该项目将采用混合方法，将档案研究与定量和创新的定性研究方法相结合。这七个部分是：1)国家档案馆的档案研究；伦敦ii)基于表格的政策分析iii)与利益相关者组织进行24次半结构化访谈iv)对完成NCS的年轻人进行在线调查v)对NCS“毕业生”的代表性样本进行30次半结构化访谈vi) 2015年一个地区的一个NCS队列的人种志vii)由2015年队列中的年轻人编写和导演的参与式动画白板视频项目，由专业动画公司制作。因此，这种混合方法解决了提供一个具有不同地理覆盖范围的计划的国家概况以最大限度地影响研究结果的挑战，同时为更深入和持续的参与一个特定的案例研究提供空间，以进行更丰富的分析。在这个项目中，米尔斯博士将与一系列第三部门慈善机构合作，并与学术界和非学术界的观众进行一系列不同的活动。研究结果的潜在应用将使决策者、第三部门组织、NCS提供者、志愿者和年轻人受益。总的来说，这个未来研究领袖奖旨在最大限度地利用现有的网络，并促进与一系列学者和用户社区的新合作。这个研究项目是一系列目标的核心，这些目标将通过这个未来研究领袖奖来实现。在这个项目中，米尔斯博士将在拉夫堡大学地理系工作，她目前的工作是人文地理学讲师。她是青年公民身份历史地理学方面的专家，她之前的研究主要集中在英国青年运动上，包括童子军、向导、Woodcraft Folk和犹太少年旅。聘请一名博士后研究助理，为期14个月。米尔斯博士还将在新加坡国立大学地理系担任访问学者，发展有关青年公民身份的想法，并与类似的利益相关者会面，为潜在的未来国际研究做好准备。

This research project examines the state's motivations behind, the third sector's engagement with, and young people's experiences of, National Citizen Service (NCS) in England.NCS is a voluntary summer scheme for 16 and 17 year olds delivered through a range of charities, private sector partnerships and youth organisations. Since its launch in 2011, 64,500 young people have participated in NCS and the scheme aims to be reaching 90,000 teenagers by 2014. The programme involves a series of social action projects, volunteering in the local community and a residential camp. Using NCS as a case-study, and positioning this new scheme within the historical context of youth citizenship development, this original research project addresses timely and policy-relevant debates on the state, civil society and third sector and significantly advances knowledge on citizenship, informal education, youth and volunteering. The project addresses the following research questions:RQ1. What have been the objectives and spatial formations of youth citizenship training schemes in Britain over the last thirty years and how do these compare to NCS?RQ2. How are 'good' and 'troubled' youth and families understood within the NCS framework and in what ways does the NCS programme seek to engage young people at the local, national, and global scale?RQ3. What have been the motivations and experiences of youth service providers and volunteers delivering NCS since 2011?RQ4. What have been the motivations, experiences and outcomes for young people participating in NCS since 2011?The project will use a mixed-methodology combining archival research with quantitative and innovative qualitative research methods. The seven components are i) archival research at the National Archives, London ii) desk-based policy analysis iii) 24 semi-structured interviews with stakeholder organisations iv) an online survey with young people who have completed NCS v) 30 semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of NCS 'graduates' vi) an ethnography of one NCS cohort in one region in 2015 vii) a participatory animated whiteboard-video project written and directed by young people from the 2015 cohort and produced by a professional animation company. This mixed methodology therefore tackles the challenges of providing a national overview of a scheme with diverse geographical coverage for maximum impact of research findings, whilst giving space for more in-depth and sustained engagement with one particular case-study for richer analysis.Dr Mills will collaborate with a range of third sector charities during this project and engage in a host of diverse activities with academic and non-academic audiences. The potential application of the research findings will benefit policy-makers, third sector organisations, NCS providers, volunteers and young people. Overall, this Future Research Leader award seeks to maximise existing networks and foster new collaborations with a range of academics and user communities.This research project is the centrepiece of a set of objectives that will be achieved through this Future Research Leader Award. During this project, Dr Mills will be based at the Department of Geography, Loughborough University via her current employment as a Lecturer in Human Geography. She is an expert on the historical geographies of youth citizenship and her previous research has focused on British youth movements including the Scouts, Guides, Woodcraft Folk and Jewish Lads' Brigade. A post-doctoral research assistant will be employed for 14 months to work on the proposed project. Dr Mills will also spend time as a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, developing ideas about youth citizenship and meeting with comparable stakeholders to prepare groundwork for potential future international research.