Generation Z Jagiellonian University students viewed as members of civil society

Abstract

This article is a contribution to the decades of disputes and reflections on civil society and its future. Since a large part of the fears and hopes associated with these discussions concerns the role of young people in supporting and developing civil society, the aim of this article is to present the results of a quantitative study conducted among the Jagiellonian University students belonging to the Z generation. Thanks to the fact that the survey combines questions concerning civic attitudes and civic engagement, the study grasps the specific characteristics of young people, which are often overlooked, and their possible impact on the future of civil society. Drawing attention to the young people who are university students and analyzing the relationship between the respondents’ civility and their socio-cultural environment, the article answers the questions concerning the opportunities for the further development of civil society in Poland and the role of the young generation of Polish residents in this process. In particular, following the quantitative analysis of the responses of 149 participants, the article presents a discussion on the most common types of civic engagement, their relationship with the civic attitudes of the respondents and the impact of the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents on these variables.