Unicef publishes research findings of Prof Bryony Hoskins

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Teaching life skills as part of a country's education system can directly increase political engagement, research shows.

Should we be concerned that UK citizens show the strongest correlation between social background and voting behaviour of any country in Europe? Roehampton's Professor Bryony Hopkins, Professor of Comparative Social Science, thinks we should, and has published important research into why some sections of society are less likely to become politically engaged than others.

The research, entitled Measuring Life Skills looks at citizenship education in schools in North Africa and the Middle East and was co-authored by Roehampton's Dr Liyuan Liu. The findings have now been published by UNICEF and World Bank, and highlight the importance of incorporating life skills teaching into a country's education system if young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are to use their political voice to address entrenched democratic inequalities.

The report is available to download free from the UNICEF website.