The Notion of Leadership and Civic Engagement in Adolescents

This paper aims to discuss the awakening of civility in adolescents through the conception they have about political leadership. It proposes to consider how identity relates to civic actions, analyzing what young people think of their political leaders and the notion of civism. Our hypothesis is that the idea of ethical/non-ethical leadership projection allows the identification with moral values (dignity and respect) and material values (power). Theoretically, our discussion is supported by studies on psychology and moral education. Data were collected from 219 individuals, boys and girls, aged 10 to 13 years, instructed in private schools, from Baixada Santista, state of São Paulo, Brazil. A questionnaire was prepared and applied to participants who were asked about television and movie characters they found most interesting. Based on their choices, it was concluded that attention to civility is strictly related to education for ethics.