MA Research
From Florida Classrooms to Global Spaces: Young People and the Politics of Citizenship Formation
Department of Geography, University of South Carolina
under the advisement of Dr. Caroline Nagel
Thesis Abstract
Public schools in the United States face growing scrutiny regarding their role in shaping young people as citizens-in-waiting, with state and non-state actors using curricular debates to cultivate a specific type of citizen. Beyond formal civics education, schools act as public spaces where youth learn to navigate their role in society. This research examines tensions between citizenship ideals promoted by the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education, and schools themselves, investigating how political debates over public education may shape young people’s civic identities and agency. Additionally, this study explores how study abroad and educational international travel serve as vehicles for "global citizenship." Through various qualitative methods, this research highlights young people’s agency amidst contested efforts to shape citizenship. Finally, it critically examines the limitations of international experiences within civic education, exposing ambiguous narratives from parents, schools, study abroad, and academic organizations in Florida.
continue reading below about aspects of my research that have been presented in various formats.
This paper presentation was given during the AAG Annual Meeting in Detroit, MI in March of 2025. Focusing on a specific section of my masters research, this presentation focused on the discretionary power of school administrators, teachers, and leadership in relation to how young people conceptualize citizenship and develop their political subjectivities and civic identity. This presentation, for the sake of time, focused on one specific instance of discretionary power enacted by a school principal that restricted student bathroom usage -- but at large, continued to enforce a climate of surveillance, distrust, and control of student agency and autonomy.
Given at the Political Geography Specialty Group Pre-Conference to the AAG Meeting in March of 2025, this paper presentation discusses discourses around global citizenship as an outcome of study abroad and educational international travel. Drawing from my masters research, I discuss schools as the site of citizenship formation and the place of young people's development of their subjectivities and identities. This presentation then turns to the civic empowerment gap in relation to study abroad discourses, where I highlight the futility of study abroad goals -- namely global citizenship -- for young people and specific populations within the civic empowerment gap.