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The European Union (EU) faces challenges that affect its persistence, including the revival of national populism in many EU member states. Studies have shown that individuals with immigration histories identify less strongly with Europe than individuals without immigration histories. Therefore, fostering a strong identification with Europe is more relevant than ever. This paper will explore the possible historical roots of different levels of identification and examine if differing access to learning opportunities can explain the difference. Drawing on data from the German sample of the International Civic and Citizenship Study 2016, this paper aims to determine the relevance of individual variables and learning opportunities for the development of students' identification with Europe. Multilevel analyses at individual and classroom level were conducted introducing different independent variables. Results show that having no immigration history from outside the EU, being Christian or atheist, and learning about Europe at school are predictors of a stronger level of identification with Europe. The effect of having an immigration history from outside the EU loses significance when socio-economic status classroom composition is entered into the model. We conclude that differences in identification are not due to different access to learning opportunities, but likely due to personal characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed signs of increasing political instability in democratic countries as well as growing alienation from civic institutions and processes among citizens, especially among young people. Within the context of civic and citizenship education, it is important to review such phenomena and study their extent among young people as well as the factors that have the potential of promoting different forms of citizenship engagement. Using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 and 2009, this article provides insights into the expectations of young people to actively engage as citizens in the future and what influences these expectations, with a primary focus on the role of civic knowledge and trust in civic institutions. Results from ICCS 2009 and 2016 show that while large majorities among young people expected to vote in elections, only relatively few found it likely to be more actively involved in political action. Except for engagement in illegal protest, young people's expected participation in general appeared to be positively related to trust. However, associations with civic knowledge were more differentiated. Trust and civic knowledge tended to have negative correlations in countries with higher levels of perceived corruption, while a different association became apparent in democracies with more transparent institutions. Civic knowledge was consistently positively related to anticipated voting while it was negatively related to expected illegal protest. More knowledgeable students were also less inclined to consider active (conventional) forms of political participation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet-related issues have influenced how civic knowledge is educated and measured. The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) is a well-known large-scale assessment concerning how civic knowledge is educated and measured globally. Regardless of the emerging roles of internet access and usage, the influences of internet access on civic knowledge have yet to be investigated in ICCS research. Hence, this study aims to study whether the multiple-choice items in the civic knowledge test of ICCS 2016 are affected by internet access, what causes the effect, and to what degree Internet access influences the measurement. Results indicated that the ICCS civic knowledge test included six differential item functioning (DIF) items on internet access, of which five favored families with internet access, and one favored families without internet access. In addition, the primary source of DIF items was highly related to socioeconomic status. Overall, the students in families where the internet was available possessed higher civic knowledge than the students who were not. In conclusion, this study provides evidence of item inequivalence and identifies suspicious sources. These results can be used as a basis to investigate related research on digital learning, online teaching, and social media engagement in civic literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tolerance is a prerequisite for deliberative democracies. Therefore, fostering tolerance is an important task for educational systems in democracies. In the present study, the concepts of social and political tolerance were disentangled and applied to the measurement approaches of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 (ICCS 2016). A single scale of political tolerance was proposed by identifying items on equal rights of women and men, different racial and ethnic groups and immigrants that capture the support of equal political rights. Previous research indicates different approaches that might be used to foster tolerance in schools. Methods: This study used the rarely applied alignment method to identify a political tolerance scale that was sufficiently invariant in the 15 participating European educational systems. The alignment method identifies solutions with minimal amounts of non-invariance. Multilevel regression analyses are used to identify which aspects of schooling are predictive of political tolerance at the student and at the school level. Results: The alignment analyses revealed a sufficiently invariant solution for the 15 education systems that could be used in regression analyses. While cognitive learning showed only a weak relationship with political tolerance, teacher fairness was relevant at student and school level. An open classroom climate was a positive predictor with relevant strength only at school level. Further multigroup analyses indicated that the results at the student level were stable between countries, while school level indicators varied more strongly between countries. Conclusions: Researchers need to acknowledge the conceptual differences between social and political tolerance in their measurement approaches. The alignment method can be useful to create scales that are comparable between many different educational systems. While educational systems differ strongly in their school level variance of political tolerance, teachers can play an important role in fostering political tolerance at the student level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development and validation of new measurement tools to explore self-efficacy toward service and toward civic participation. We developed and administered a survey to 851 students in an AACSB-accredited college of business at a comprehensive public university located in the Midwest. Traditional scale development methodologies plus confirmatory factor analysis and simultaneous factor analysis in several populations were used to analyze both a primary sample and a holdback sample. Results strongly support the validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Future use for the instrument includes verification of the effectiveness of pedagogies designed to increase self-efficacy toward service and motivation for civic participation in business students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A qualitative case study of self-identifying Muslim youth of migrant origin in Madrid sought to understand how they formulated identity and employed real cultural practices in navigating belonging. The majority of these youth drew from the so-called "1.5" and "second" generations, and expressed a hyphenated or hybrid identity: they combined one or several aspects of religious, cultural or ethnic identity alongside an identification with Spain or Madrid. As such, these layered and complex identities could indicate attachment to community of residence. Hybridity was also manifested in behaviours, with participants demonstrating multiple language use, as well as variegated cultural or religious practice. Moreover, in negotiating inclusion and belonging, some argued for their rights to express these plural identities and engage in diverse cultural practices, particularly when such rights were perceived as denied. This paper primarily contends that participants leveraged hybrid identities in representing themselves and finding common ground: they maintained attachments to Madrid or Spain alongside their minority identification and diverse cultural practices, or incorporated these practices in engaging with their communities. It furthermore observes that despite perceived experiences of discrimination, this population's claims to membership and respect for individual rights reflected an understanding of citizenship based in participation and recognition of difference, raising questions as to the impact of past or future citizenship policy and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The civic integrationist turn usually refers to the stricter requirements for residence and citizenship that many states have implemented since the late 1990's. But what of other policy spheres that are essential for the formation of citizens? Is there a civic turn in school policy? And does it follow the pattern of residence and citizenship? This article addresses these questions through a comparative study of the EU's allegedly strictest and most liberal immigration regimes, Denmark and Sweden, respectively. The analysis shows a growing concern with citizenship education in both countries, yet with different styles and content. Citizenship education in Denmark concentrates on reproducing a historically derived core of cultural values and knowledge to which minorities are expected to assimilate, while the Swedish model subscribes to a pluralist view that stresses mutual adaptation and intercultural tolerance. Despite claims to the contrary, the analysis shows that Sweden too has experienced a civic turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Focuses on the inclusion of science in the teaching of citizenship in schools in England. Impact of science on society; Lack of additional resources of time or money for teachers; Growing reluctance of among young people to participate in politics.