Situated Belongings: The Sense of Belonging in Youth Collectives and Movements

Belonging is a relevant concept for understanding processes of participation, citizenship, and subject formation in contemporary societies. Although extensively investigated within educational studies, it remains underexplored from a pedagogical perspective in youth activism contexts. This research project examines how a sense of belonging is constructed within youth collectives and movements and what role it plays in processes of civic participation and political subjectivation. Through an exploratory qualitative approach based on interviews with young people engaged in different forms of activism, the study investigates the meanings attributed to belonging, the relational dynamics and practices through which it is produced, and the relationship between belonging and civic engagement. It also explores the relationship between experiences of belonging developed in youth movements and those previously experienced in school contexts.