Navigating Normativity: How German Youth Discuss Activism in a Global Context

In the past decade, youth activism has gained visibility in European public discourse. It has also been integrated into the UN's Sustainable Development Goals under the Global Citizenship Education framework. Nonetheless, we have only a limited understanding of young people's own perceptions of activism and its manifestations. We investigate perceptions of activism among German secondary school students, employing thematic analysis to analyze data from 25 discussion groups, each composed of 4 to 8 students aged 14-20 from various educational institutions across Germany (n = 141), identifying three predominant themes: (a) A normative perception of activism whereby students distinguish themselves from “the other” peers in countries deprived of adequate education and the conditions necessary for activism. (b) A narrow view of global citizenship – students note stark differences between themselves and populations outside the Global North, rather than embracing a shared global identity. (c) An uncritical acceptance of conventional conceptions of activism, in both actions undertaken and causes deemed worthy of activism. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field, we offer insights to support further implementation of Global Citizenship Education.