What citizenship action is
- Active citizenship means taking part in society to make a positive difference, such as volunteering, campaigning or voting.
- For the exam, you plan and carry out your own citizenship action with others, on an issue that matters to your community. You then answer questions about it in Paper 1.
Planning your action
- Choose an issue and research it, using primary research (surveys, interviews) and secondary research (news, official statistics).
- Set a clear aim, identify who has the power to make the change (such as the school council, a local councillor or an MP), and plan tasks, roles and a timeline.
- Think about risks, ethics and the resources you need.
Methods of action
- Petitions: UK Parliament petitions get a government response at 10,000 signatures and are considered for a debate at 100,000.
- Lobbying: contacting decision-makers directly, such as writing to your MP.
- Awareness raising: assemblies, posters, social media and local media.
- Events and volunteering, such as a litter pick or fundraiser.
Evaluating your action
- Did you achieve your aim? What evidence shows the impact? What went well, what would you change and how could the action continue?
- Consider different viewpoints: who agreed or disagreed, and why.
Key terms
- Active citizenship
- Taking part in society to make a positive difference.
- Citizenship action
- A planned activity to make change on an issue.
- Lobbying
- Contacting decision-makers to influence them.
- Petition
- A formal request signed by many people.
- Primary research
- Research you carry out yourself.
- Secondary research
- Using information collected by others.
- Evaluation
- Judging how successful an action was and what could improve.