Youth self-efficacy and basic hope and their importance in the context of civic education. Research perspectives

<ns3:p>The aim of the analyses presented here is to determine the intensity of self-efficacy and baseline hope in adolescents in the context of the ideas of civil society and civic education. Self-efficacy plays a key role in taking action and determines the degree of commitment to initiated activities and persistence in pursuit of a goal. Furthermore, it represents a kind of personal resource for the individual, which determines coping with difficult situations in different areas of life. Basic hope is a somewhat different construct, although it too plays a significant role in taking on new challenges and adapting to changing conditions. Selected personal qualities, determining a sense of self-competence and a belief that the world is meaningful and favourable, can be important factors in the motivation to build a civil society. For this reason, it is important to correctly identify them in adolescence.A group of 200 16-19 year olds (M=16,79; SD=0,81), including 58,1% girls and 41,5% boys, were included in the study. The following research tools were used in the study: KompOs Personal Competence Scale and BHI-12 Basic Hope Questionnaire. The results indicate low levels of self-efficacy and reduced basic hope in the group of adolescents studied and lower tendencies to initiate actions in boys than in girls. The results of the study may be important in shaping attitudes and beliefs in line with the idea of civil society. The results of the analyses may also be helpful in the construction of civic education programmes.</ns3:p>