Abstract:

The topic of youth cultural participation has been discussed in the context of raising cultural awareness, developing artistic skills and attitudes, providing opportunities for individual’s self-expression, fostering the sense of identity, and enhancing respect for the diversity of cultural expressions in both cultural policy documents and academic literature. However, the factors determining young people’s cultural participation that often constitute limitations initially result in impossibility, but gradually and eventually – in “unwillingness” to take part in cultural and interest groups.

The study is aimed at comparing pupils’ and students’ opinions on the factors influencing their cultural participation through the attitudes and perspectives of 12 young people (6 pupils of general basic schools, secondary schools, and vocational schools aged 14–18 and 6 students of higher education establishments aged 18–25) interviewed in Latvia in 2019–2020 as a part of research on intergenerational dynamics of cultural socialisation. In addition, in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with the representatives of the middle and older generations from the young people’s families, whose opinions have been used as a backdrop information of the study.

Among the factors that were identified as affecting pupils’ and students’ cultural participation can be mentioned the established familial traditions and rituals, socioeconomic profile of the family, environment and cultural offer in rural and urban areas, individual characteristics and personality traits. Contrary to pupils of basic and secondary schools who are used to following both the curriculum at a formal education establishment and the agenda of informal interest groups and whose actions in the majority of cases are being daily supervised and supported by their families, cultural participation of students enrolled in higher education institutions decreases due to their transitioning into adulthood and accepting new responsibilities, i.e. they are facing greater financial challenges, lack of time due to increasing study load and youth employment, as well as new alternatives for spending overall leisure time while exercising their own freedom. This testifies to the fact that young people and their families most often perceive culture as an important means of self-development and growth till only approximately the age of the majority, whereas in the next stages of life cultural participation in many cases is substituted by cultural orientation and emphasis is laid on culture not only as a tool, but also a target.

This article is based on the research which has been conducted within a framework of the international project “Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe's Future” (CHIEF), funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 770464.

Keywords:

Young people, culture, cultural participation, cultural orientation, intergenerational research.