The article presents the theoretical positions of a number of scholars on the essential and structural characteristics of civil society, since positive social activeness, in contrast to the youth’s social behavior, demonstrates an active social position in civil society institutions. The purpose of the study was to analyze the methodological approaches to the formation of social activeness of youth in civil society institutes. A number of modern methodological approaches are provided by the general theoretical, socio-pedagogical patterns, which in turn constitute the basic saturation of scientific research, the identification of certain ideological orientations, philosophical and general scientific trends of pedagogical research, their impact on the solution of the tasks. The approaches, which determine the methodological principles of the research, are distinguished, they form the basis for the formation of the motivational-valuable, content-cognitive, socially-active and reflexivity-estimating components of youth’s social activity in civil society institutes. The following approaches are defined: systemic, subjective-activity, person-oriented, functional.The systemic approach as a theoretical and methodological basis of the research serves as the key and determines the possibility of allocating the system forming the youth’s social activity, considering it as a complex component in the system of personality development. The subjective-activity approach makes it possible to identify factors influencing the subjectivity of a young person’s position, the development of social activity during their activities in civil society institutions. The personality-oriented approach helps to create the institutions of civil society conditions for a full-fledged manifestation and harmonious development of all personal functions of a young man on the path of formation of social activity. The functional approach implements the idea of integrity, structuring and functionality. The integrity of the process of forming the social activity of young people is traced in the unity of components of its formation system (goals, tasks, content, forms, methods, means for achieving the result).

У статті представлені теоретичні позиції низки науковців щодо сутнісних та структурних характеристик громадянського суспільства. Метою дослідження виступив аналіз методологічних підходів до формування соціальної активності молоді в інститутах громадянського суспільства. Виокремлено підходи, що обумовлюють методологічні засади дослідження, становлять підґрунтя до формування структурних компонентів соціальної активності молоді в інститутах громадянського суспільства. Такими підходами визначені: системним, суб’єктно-діяльнісним, особистісно-орієнтованим, функціональний.