Detailed analyses
2.1.2 iccs indicators of civic knowledge, value beliefs and attitudes
The general cognitive skills obtained through studying the traditional subjects discussed above enable people to find a job and become active citizens. However, active citizenship may also be promoted by distinctly different cognitive skills obtained through studying non-traditional subjects such as those devoted to politics and society. The 2009 Inter-national Civic and Citizenship Education Study (iccs) assessed these different cognitive skills by testing students’ civic knowledge, value beliefs, attitudes and activities. iccs was targeted at Grade 8 students (i.e. students aged approximately 14 years) and had 38 participating countries, 25 of which are in the list of countries studied in this volume.
To capture cognitive skills that specifically promote active citizenship, we use a selection of iccs variables as outcome indicators, following Dronkers (2014) and Van de Werfhorst (2014). First, to assess knowledge, we simply use the civic knowledge measure. Second, to assess value beliefs and attitudes, we use measures of (i) attitudes toward equal gender rights;
(ii) attitudes towards equal rights for ethnic groups; and (iii) support for basic democratic values.15 Again, it should be noted that the test scores reported here do not necessarily reflect the quality of a country’s education, as test scores also depend on other factors.
Mean iccs civic knowledge scores
Our first iccs outcome indicator is the mean civic knowledge test score.
The civic knowledge test covered content concerned with civic society and systems, civic principles, civic participation and civic identities. The test
13
The linear bivariate model of Figure A2.1 accounts for only 21% of the sample variance in inequality.
14
See Van de Werfhorst and Mijs (2010) and inequality in terms of the general dispersion of test scores.
15
Documenting civic activities is beyond the scope of this chapter.
contained both items involving reasoning and analysis (75%) and items involving just knowledge (25%). Performance was mapped on a scale where the international mean was set to a score of 500 points, with a standard deviation of 100 points. The scale is divided into three proficiency levels (Schulz et al. 2010).16 Figure 2.1 shows 2009 mean civic knowledge scores (Schulz et al. 2010).
A few results stand out:
1 Civic knowledge scores of 14 year-olds were highest in Denmark, Finland and Korea.
2 Civic knowledge scores of 14 year-olds were lowest in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Greece.
3 Civic knowledge scores in Northern Europe were considerably higher on average than those in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Europe.
4 Average civic knowledge in Central and Eastern Europe was comparable to average civic knowledge in Western Europe.
5 Southern Europe performed worst on average in terms of civic knowl-edge, but intraregional differences were substantial.
Mean iccs scores for attitudes toward equal rights
Our second and third iccs outcome indicators measure attitudes towards equal gender rights and equal rights for ethnic groups. These indicators were constructed using a questionnaire in which students were asked to ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘disagree’, or ‘strongly disagree’ with various statements. Attitudes were mapped on a scale with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. Figure 2.2 shows the mean scores in 2009 (Schulz et al. 2010). A few results stand out:
1 Support for equal gender rights was highest in Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Spain, and lowest in Bulgaria and Latvia.
2 Average support for equal gender rights in Central and Eastern Europe is lower than in other parts of Europe, despite being relatively high in Slovenia.
3 Support for equal rights for ethnic groups was highest in Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden and lowest in the Czech Republic, Latvia and Malta.
4 The four European regions have similar levels of average support for equal rights for ethnic groups.
Percentage of students agreeing with statements reflecting democratic values Our fourth iccs outcome indicator measures support for basic democratic values. This indicator was constructed using results from a questionnaire in which students were asked to ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘disagree’, or
‘strongly disagree’ with five statements reflecting democracy.17 Figure A2.2 in the appendix to this chapter shows the percentages of students agreeing or strongly agreeing, expressed as an average over the five statements.
16
Proficiency level 1 (395 to 478 points) is “character-ised by engagement with the fundamental principles and broad concepts that underpin civic and citizenship and by a mechanistic working knowledge of the operation of civic, civil, and political institutions.” Proficien-cy level 2 (479 to 562 points) is “characterised by knowledge and under-standing of the main civic and citizenship institutions, systems, and concepts as well as an understanding of the interconnectedness of civic and civil institutions and relevant operational pro-cesses.” Proficiency level 3 (563 points and above) is
“characterised by the ap-plication of knowledge and understanding to evaluate or justify policies, practices, and behaviours based on students’ understanding of civics and citizenship.”
Scores below 395 points indicate proficiency below the level targeted by the assessment instru-ment (Schulz et al. 2010).
17
Following Brese et al.
(2014), we use the follow-ing five statements: (i) Everyone should always have the right to express their opinions freely; (ii) All people should have their social and political rights respected; (iii) People should always be free to criticise the gov-ernment publicly; (iv) All citizens should have the right to elect their leaders freely; and (v) People should be able to protest if they believe a law is unfair.
Region Country
0 200 400 600
Western Europe
Ireland Switzerland United Kingdom Belgium Austria Luxembourg
Netherlands Germany France
Northern
Europe Finland
Denmark Sweden Norway Southern
Europe Italy
Spain Malta Greece Cyprus Portugal Central and
Eastern Europe
Poland Slovak Republic Estonia Slovenia Czech Republic Lithuania Latvia Bulgaria
Romania Hungary Croatia
Oceania New Zealand
Australia Northern
America
United States Canada
Eastern Asia
Korea Japan
Figure 2.1 Mean ICCS civic knowledge scores (2009)
Notes: Data for the United Kingdom and Belgium relate to England and Flanders, respectively. Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (nearly), New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, and the Czech Republic met the guidelines for sampling participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
In Korea, the same cohort was surveyed but the survey took place later. Source: Schulz et al. (2010).
Region Country
0 20 40 60
Western Europe
Ireland United Kingdom
Switzerland Luxembourg
Austria
Netherlands Germany France
Northern
Europe Sweden
Norway Denmark Finland Southern
Europe Spain
Italy Malta Greece Cyprus Portugal Central and
Eastern Europe
Slovenia Estonia
Poland Lithuania
Czech Republic
Latvia
Romania Hungary Croatia
Oceania New Zealand
Australia Northern
America
United States Canada
Eastern Asia
Korea Japan Slovak Republic
Bulgaria Belgium
Figure 2.2 Mean ICCS scores for attitudes towards equal rights (2009)
Notes: Data for the United Kingdom and Belgium relate to England and Flanders, respectively. Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (nearly), New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, and the Czech Republic met the guidelines for sampling participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
In Korea, the same cohort was surveyed but the survey took place later. Source: Schulz et al. (2010).
As can be seen, nearly all students endorsed these democratic values, with support ranging from 88% in Malta to 96% in Korea.