Civic and Citizenship Education in Times of Change: Curriculum and its Implementation Some Results of the IEA Studies Civic Education in Iraq: Study Tour in Warsaw, Poland EUSG, 22–27 April 2012 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement

The IEA and civic education  Characteristics of an IEA study - focuses on educational systems’ intended (policy level), implemented (school level) and attained (student level) curriculum - asks about factors that influence them  Overarching goal of civic education studies - identify place of school in preparing for citizenship  Specifics of civic and citizenship education study - investigates various aspects of school life - goes beyond school experiences  1 st study (1971): Does school make a difference? 2 nd study (1999): School in interaction with other social agents 3 rd study (2009): Citizenship in a changing world

Who participates and why?  Countries from various regions: Europe, Americas, Asia and Pacific  Common stand: Countries accepting democratic organization of society and free market economy  Differences: development and advancement of democratic system, economics, culture - regional modules (since 2009) - national options  Major reasons for countries to participate are related to shaping and monitoring civic education: - to clarify concept and policy - to assess their comparative standing in this field - to assess need for changes

 Random samples of schools, teachers and students (approximately 150 schools, 4,500 students and 2,000 teachers per country)  Target grade is 8 th grade (14-15 year-olds)  National Context Survey (intended curriculum) about policies and practices  Teacher and School Principal Questionnaires (implemented curriculum) about teaching civics and citizenship and about school characteristics and climate  Student Test and Questionnaire (attained curriculum) to assess student knowledge and understanding, attitudes, behaviors and background From whom and how are data collected?

How is study conducted?  International and national study centers working together with support of: - civic education experts - IEA Secretariat (quality control) - IEA Data Processing and Research Center (preparation of procedures and database)  Duration of the project: 5 years  Products: international, regional and national reports, encyclopedia, international database with user guide

Lessons learned: 1. Variety of approaches  All countries participating in the IEA civic and citizenship education studies have civic and citizenship education included in their curricula (mostly from primary to upper secondary education)  Vast majority of countries integrate it in several subjects, some have it as separate subject, in some countries it differs across schools (also whether it is compulsory)  Three teaching staff categories: (1) teachers of all subjects, (2) teachers of subjects related to civics and citizenship, but with this material integrated into other subjects, (3) specialists in civics and citizenship teaching it as separate subject

Lessons learned: 2. Major topics and emerging issues  Social-political organization of the society - parliament and government system - voting and election - governmental and non-governmental organizations - international cooperation  Social relations - human rights, minority rights - understanding different cultures and ethnic groups  Environment  Emerging issues: economics and labor

Lessons learned: 3. Teaching aims and student assessment  Most teachers regard development of knowledge and cognitive skills the most important aim of civic education  Development of active participation in the future considered by minority of teachers (16%) as the most important objective  School-based civic related activities are, in the opinion of teachers, widespread but limited to sport and cultural activities  Majority of countries have recommendations for school participation and culture (involvement of parents, links with local community, student self-government, etc.)  Majority of countries provide some form of student assessment, some also assess schools in relation to civic education

Lessons learned: 4. How much do students know and understand?  The IEA civic studies show considerable variation in civic knowledge between and within countries, and big differences between high and law achievers  Student proficiency varies from knowing fundamental principles and broad concepts to application of knowledge and evaluation of policies  Girls score higher in all countries  Comparisons of 1999 and 2009 (for 15 countries) show significant decline in half of them and improvement in one

Lessons learned: 5. How do students relate?  Overwhelming majorities of students support democratic values and liberties but also support restrictions to them as reaction toward terror threats  Considerable variation across countries concerning trust in institutions, the lowest is interest and trust in political parties  Students are more interested in domestic politics and social issues than in foreign or international politics  Student participation rarely goes beyond school environment  Large majority of students intend to vote in national elections  Only minorities expect more active participation in future (e.g. joining political party)

Lessons learned: 6. Factors that matter  For civic knowledge: - test language and socioeconomic background, discussions with parents, media use, gender - expected further education, perception of openness in the classroom, discussions of and experiences with voting  For basic political engagement in future (e.g. voting): - civic knowledge and civic engagement at school  For active political engagement: - students’ self-beliefs and motivation - student attitude toward civic institutions - past or current participation in wider community

For more information… …please contact: Barbara Malak-Minkiewicz IEA Secretariat Herengracht BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tel , Fax