Defining student protest movements and Reasons for their emergence in the scientific literature

Abstract

Student protest movements are by nature an important event for any country, especially for developed or emerging countries. Student activism is most noticeable on important issues that directly affect them or have some impact on them.

There are various definitions of student protests in the academic literature. In their work, researchers look at this term through examples of specific protests, so there is no single, universal definition of the term. This article examines and analyses the definitions of student protests found in the academic literature. As it turned out, when defining student protest movements, researchers focus on their idea, goals, scale, and outcomes.

The review of academic literature in this article shows that students in particular have become active since the 1960s. It highlighted the reasons for student protests that were related to local university issues as well as issues that affected the whole state and society. Due to the urgency of the issue, the study of student protest movements from different aspects is valuable in the course of promoting democratic processes in any country, as civic participation and freedom of expression are important indicators of democracy.