Research on the development of citizenship has been reinvigorated by consid
ering adolescents as participants actively engaged in, and interacting with
, family, peers, teachers, and the media. This contrasts with earlier top-d
own transmission models that saw adolescents as passive recipients of infor
mation from parents and teachers. Active citizenship is now seen as a large
ly indirect result of contextualized knowledge and cognitive skills learned
from news media use, interpersonal communication, and active participation
in school and community volunteer activities. The processes of active citi
zenship learning are an important part of the moral development of adolesce
nts and young adults. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2000.