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Greater numbers of youth in Czech schools identify as sexual and gender minorities (SGM). This is occurring in a highly homogenous country that has a history of tolerance, yet limited guidelines exist on how to support these increasingly more visible communities. This provides a unique environment to examine how, when, and why educators advocate for SGM youth in the Czech Republic, and it sets the stage for more research. In this study, 114 teachers working in Czech schools completed a survey about when they intervened and facilitated discussions in response to homo-negativity and trans-negativity (i.e., verbal prejudice). Regression models showed that intervention and discussion were significantly positively related to teachers' self-efficacy to advocate for SGM youth. Additionally, educator training and attitudes were related to initiating classroom discussions about managing the consequences of verbal bullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The 2023 Czech presidential elections, characterized by high turnout and the victory of retired General Petr Pavel in a run‐off against former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, marked a significant shift in the country's political landscape. These elections were marked by intense debates on candidates' backgrounds and foreign policy orientations, highlighting voters' preference for pro‐Western ideals. Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Petr Fiala witnessed four ministerial changes affecting the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry for European Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Several important legislative changes occurred in 2023. Notably, the pension amendment incited robust debate and opposition activity. Furthermore, the government's consolidation package, aimed at economic stabilization and public budget reduction, sparked protests, reflecting broader societal concerns over funding and labor conditions in schools and hospitals. The year ended with national mourning following a tragic mass shooting at Charles University in Prague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The war in Ukraine dominated Czech politics in 2022. The Cabinet of Petr Fiala militarily and politically supported the Ukrainian defence efforts against the Russian adversary. Fiala visited Ukraine twice in 2022 (being the first Western leader, along with the Slovenian and Polish prime ministers, to meet with Zelensky in Kyiv on 15 March). Senate and local elections occurred in the autumn. Fiala's party (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) had the strongest showing in the Senate election, while the ANO party of the previous Prime Minister Andrej Babiš suffered a defeat. Babiš was acquitted in a long‐lasting subsidy fraud case and began campaigning for the January 2023 presidential election. Domestically, the double‐digit inflation, increasing public debt and energy supply routes were the crucial issues that led to several big anti‐government protests. The Czech Republic presided over the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Former socialist states made great progress in the institutional set up and development of civil societies after the fall of their non-democratic regimes. However, the gap in levels of political participation between former socialist states and old democracies remains. Using two-wave panel data, this study explores how four different types of participation are related to each other and whether a sense of internal political efficacy is a prerequisite or a product of these types of participation. The results imply that facilitation of a sense of internal political efficacy is the key for enhancing the level of youth political participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Scholars and practitioners endorse public participation in the decision-making process as enhancing the health of democracy, justice, and effectiveness of policy outcomes. To sustain or even increase the number of participants in the long run, it is crucial to start raising a new politically active generation already during their youth and even early adolescence. This article presents School Forums as an extracurricular participatory method involving early adolescents (11–15 years old) in decision-making concerning their school and municipality. We made a field experiment on a sample of 480 Czech secondary school pupils to examine the potential of School Forums to enhance prerequisites for youth's political engagement. Our results revealed a positive effect of School Forum attendance on the sense of internal political efficacy and interest in local affairs. The results suggest a high potential of participative extracurricular programmes in raising a new generation of politically active citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Public support for government institutions tends to increase in the face of threats such as armed conflict, terrorism, or natural disasters. This phenomenon, known as the 'rally-'round-the-flag' effect, has also been observed as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic in many countries. Citizens' trust in the government's good intentions and ability to handle a crisis is very important, as it gives government the legitimacy to take strong measures. High trust in government also increases citizens' willingness to comply with these measures. The aim of this study is to examine the 'rally-'round-the-flag' effect in the Czech Republic, analyse the characteristics related to the increase in trust in government, and test the relationship between trust in government and compliance with anti-pandemic measures. The analysis uses data from five waves of the Czech Household Panel Study (2016--2020) and finds a dramatic increase in trust in government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A relatively higher increase in trust in government was observed among people with a low level of education and low social trust. Overall, however, the rise in trust in government is more of a general tendency across society than it is an increase in one specific group of the population. Trust in government is also linked to compliance with anti-pandemic measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

This article explores the moderating effects of body obesity and subjective health status on the relationship between distance to the polling station and voter turnout in the Czech general election of 2017. Using insights from rational choice theory and the funnel model of turnout, multilevel logit models are used to examine whether the relationship between reported turnout and distance from home to the polling station was different for those who are obese and/or think they are in poor health. This study is based on analyses of the Czech Household Panel Survey data. The modelling results confirm that those who were obese and in poor health had a lower probability of voting as the distance to the polling station increased. Furthermore, this study found that being interested in the 2017 election outcome (instrumental motivation) did mitigate physiological limitations associated with getting to a polling station; however, thinking that voting is a civic duty (moral motivation) had no strong effect on the distance to the polls and turnout relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

This study explores what factors help explain why some young people have more internal political efficacy (IPE) than others. IPE refers to subjective competence to understand politics and make informed choices. IPE is important because it has a strong positive association with many forms of political participation and also enhances the legitimacy of democratic regimes. Consequently, IPE forms part of the foundations of political equality. Using data from the Czech Republic and insights from personal information, social resource and social learning models (SLMs), this study shows that variation in youth IPE is most strongly linked with discussions among family, friends and classmates. In contrast to previous work, open classroom climate was not found to have a positive link with IPE, and Campbell’s (2008, Political Behavior 30(4): 437–54) compensation hypothesis could not be accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

This study examines the general question of how classroom characteristics are linked with differences among students in civic competence, which is seen to be an important basis for political inequality. A resource-mobilisation account of youth civic competence is presented, and this is tested using hierarchical linear modelling and International Civic and Citizenship Study 2009 data. The determinants of youth civic competence are explored at the individual, family, and classroom levels, where resource and mobilisation factors at each level are examined. Evidence for classroom effects are tested using Campbell’s compensation hypothesis and insights derived from Marsh’s big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE). This case study of the Czech Republic shows limited evidence for an open classroom climate reducing civic competence differences between low- and high-SES students, and no evidence of BFLPE increasing such differences among youths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

How do Czech high school students aged 15-20 years evaluate life in Czechoslovakia between 1948 and 1989? As Czechs (and Slovaks) born after the Velvet Revolution do not have direct experience of life under communism, the evaluations they have about this period of contemporary history must be based on indirect evidence coming from older family members, school, the media, museums, etc. Using a theory of collective memory developed by French sociologist, Maurice Halbwachs (1877 - 1945) combined with empirical (mass survey) evidence from 2014 this paper shows that young Czechs' evaluations of the past differ on the basis of social group membership and that evaluations of the past are strongly associated with present conditions. Specifically, this study reveals that females, students in less academic schools, and those living outside Prague have more positive collective memories; and hence evaluations of life under communism. Moreover, the past is evaluated in terms of the present where students least satisfied with contemporary life have the most positive evaluations of life under communism. This study concludes by illustrating how Halbwach's theory of collective memory matches with some of the key findings of contemporary studies of Czechoslovak communism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Using a large survey of Czech high school students (n = 1103), aged 15–20 years, this paper explores youth prejudice to a wide range of minority groups (n = 21) where family, school, and community contexts are taken into account. General Structural Equation Models are used to explore the determinants of prejudice for 21 minorities using a comparative explanatory framework where the focus is gender differences in prejudice to minorities are examined using three social theories: Social Dominance Theory (SDT), the Theory of Gendered Prejudice (TGP), and Gender Role Beliefs (GRB). This research shows that gender plays a strong role in expressing prejudiced attitudes where females express (a) less prejudiced attitudes toward the Roma, black Africans, Gays and those with mental or physical disabilities, and (b) more prejudiced attitudes towards the homeless, Vietnamese, Muslims, and lesbians. This gendered pattern is explained in terms of insights from SDT, TGP, and GRB. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] more...

Fowler proposed a social learning model of voter turnout, and Bhatti and Hansen demonstrate that voter turnout among young (first-time) voters is highest among those living at home with their parents. Combining these theoretical and empirical results to a study of youth turnout, this article tests the hypothesis that the strongest determinant of attitudes towards turnout is parents' record of voting. The data used to test this hypothesis are a representative survey of Czech high school students aged 17-19 years, fielded in 2012. This study finds that the attitudes of youths who reside with their parents to turnout are strongly determined by their parents' example. Motivation also matters for voting, but the parental example is the most important determinant of turnout attitudes as a social learning model of turnout suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

This article contributes to the discussion about political socialization concept and research. The paper makes a critical insight in research history and development in the area of political socialization with the conclusions that there is no universal definition of political socialization and the field is still burdened by many theoretical and empirical controversies which could be resolved by examining causal mechanisms operating in the process of political socialization. The literature review describes the development of research in this field and shows that there is persistent need for retesting basic hypotheses. Showing the advantages and disadvantages of panel data design the paper demonstrates why it is most suitable type of data for testing majority of the hypotheses of political socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The influence of early attitudes formed in childhood on adult political behaviour has led many scholars to examine political socialisation effects. To date there has been limited research on political socialization processes in post-communist countries. This paper presents party preferences of Czech youth and consequently focuses on the influence of two key channels of political socialization, i.e. the family and school, on the party preferences of young (pre- or first time) voters in the Czech Republic. Use is made of data from a unique large survey of 17 to 19 year old high school students (N=1735) fielded in 2012. A series of models estimated using multinomial regression with random intercept shows that in spite of significant differences in party support across the three main types of high schools examined, the impact of family background is stronger than that of school environment. This study argues that school environment has only a small independent effect. Parents influence their offspring directly as well as indirectly by selecting the school that their children attend; and consequently school effects partly reflect political orientations originating in households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...