European Youth Strategy awareness and EU participation: Evaluating the intervention impact on young people's European citizenship in four countries

Abstract

The European Youth Strategy and its tools are pivotal instruments within the European Union policies framework to meet the varied needs of young citizens while fostering a sense of European citizenship. However, the extent of those tools' impact lacks empirical evidence in the existing literature. To address this gap, we employed a quasi-experimental post-test design with both intervention and control groups across four countries. Underpinned by the Social Cognitive Theory, our research aimed at unveiling insights into the effects of an intervention focused on raising awareness about the European Youth Strategy as part of an EU project on the participants' European citizenship self-perceptions. The intervention consisted of workshops and informational sessions aimed at enhancing participants' understanding of the European Youth Strategy. Using an adapted Global Citizenship Scale, we conducted an online survey among 1403 individuals aged 18 to 24 with mixed results. The results showed varied outcomes, ranging from positive effects in Slovakia to neutral effects in Romania and Hungary and negative impacts in Bulgaria. Females tended to respond more positively to the intervention than males, though this was evidenced primarily in Hungary and Slovakia. These findings suggest that country-specific cultural and contextual factors play a crucial role in shaping the effectiveness of such interventions. Consequently, our research offers crucial comparative data for evaluating European citizenship projects, presenting nuanced insights into the targeted EU member states. It contributes to the limited empirical literature on the impact of the European Youth Strategy and underscores the need for more targeted, context-sensitive approaches in promoting European citizenship among youth. Future research should consider longitudinal designs to capture long-term effects and investigate further the mechanisms behind the observed gender differences.