%0 Journal Article
%T Civil society as understood by students of Kraków secondary schools
%A Trzópek- Paszkiewicz, Joanna
%A Ulatowska, Roksana
%J Public Management
%V 2023
%R 10.4467/20843968ZP.23.008.19078
%N Numer 3–4 (60)
%P 115-125
%K educational leadership, students' social involvement, civil society
%@ 1896-0200
%D 2023
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/zarzadzanie-publiczne/article/spoleczenstwo-obywatelskie-w-rozumieniu-uczniow-krakowskich-szkol-srednich
%X The main objective of the present study is to learn about the understanding of civil society among the students of Kraków’s econdary schools. A school is an institution that, apart from teaching and creating space for students’ learning, performs other social functions, including socialisation and development of subjectivity. School is the first community in one’s social life that can be a space for the development of social, democratic and civic competences. The starting point is learning about students’ mental models regarding the construct of civil society. Qualitative research was conducted among 308 secondary school students from the city and Commune of Kraków. The young generation understands civil society as con-sisting of active citizens who create an engaged, independent, goal-oriented community. However, our research shows that this concept is understood differently and that this understanding needs to be debated and constructively discussed among young citizens. The authors also set a practical goal of developing recommendations for schools on how to support students’ civic articipation.