Background and aims

• Overall societal challenge: young adults' poor understanding of how to make political and social change in the UK as active citizens.
• 'Changemakers' will generate robust educational resource(s) that enable young people (16-24) to become active citizens by improving their understanding of how to make political and social change in the UK.
• This will be achieved through the development of educational resource(s) post-secondary/compulsory education.
• The research will initially focus on Wales, working with young Welsh citizens and OU Wales.

The research will....

1. Enable young adults to better understand how to make political and social change in the UK as 'active citizens'.
2. Positively impact political participation in later adulthood via the upskilling and engagement engendered.
3. Help policy makers and educators learn cost-effective ways to increase understanding of, and participation in, politics in young adults. Further benefitting societal cohesion, civic engagement, and enabling more representative decision-making.
4. Influence the development of young people's citizenship information and political education post-secondary/compulsory education.

Research activities

• Evaluation of young people’s engagement with a previously created OpenLearn course, providing feedback on its use as an educational resource which focuses on how to make political and social changes in the UK.
• Broader online survey of young people’s understanding of political institution (UK state and devolved) and how to make political and social change, asking participants to reflect on their knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and experienced educational practices, as well as reflection on potential educational resources.
• Workshop with young people to identify/narrow down potential educational resource(s) to be developed.
• Develop draft educational resources(s), based on previous stages.
• Evaluate (via workshop) educational resource(s) with sub-set of young adults. To include analysis of their understanding of how to make change pre and post-intervention (i.e. has their understanding improved).
• Finalisation of ‘proof of concept’ educational resource(s).
• Good practice recommendations for policymakers and dissemination activities.

Maintaining momentum

This research builds on two connected resources, both of which explore how people can make change:

1. ‘Changemakers’ PDF guide, created with UK parliament.
2. Free online OpenLearn course: 'An introduction to making political and social change', created with UK Parliament, Welsh Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly.

It also builds on a citizen’s panel on media and democracy in Wales, led by the OU in Wales and Institute of Welsh Affairs which led to many recommendations outlined in the full report.

Participant benefits

Opportunity to gain skills useful to study and employment, undertak OpenLearn course with guidance and increase understanding of active citizenship.

OU benefits

Scalable resources with proven value and input from regional communities. Model and resources could be extended across the four UK nations.