Is Youth Culture Apathetic Towards the Modern Political Process?
It is often said that young people lack interest and concern in politics, showing indifference to the modern political process. This claim will be explored in the context of contemporary Britain, acknowledging possible explanations for this apathy and analysing how recent trends may be affecting the level of political interest amongst the youth culture. The difference between old and modern politics will also be discussed, examining how this fits in with youth culture.

To begin to acknoweldge why young people may be apathetic towards the modern political process, it is crucial to understand how the youth view politics and how these views have been acquired. For some it would seem that there is a definite lack of education in what politics is, rather than a complete lack of interest. The National Curriculum consists of 4 key stages and it is not until Citizenship lessons at key stage 3 (11 - 14 years old) that British children are taught "knowledge and understanding about becoming informed citizens" (National Curriculum Online: nc.uk.net) which includes topics on politics. Because of the legal obligations to schools to abide by the National Curriculum many find it difficult or impossible to offer content outside of its scope - the result being that only National Curriculum material is covered. In terms of political education, this means that many children have had no educational of politics since the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1989. Hence large numbers of those who are now in the age category considered to be 'youth' are politically uneducated, at least through formal sources.

In appreciating that there is inequalities in the political education of the youth, it should be realised where these inequalities have arisen. With no statutory political education, political understanding