Civic and Citizenship Education in 2009 (ICCS): A Comparative Study

The purpose of the "International Civic and Citizenship Education Study" (ICCS) is to investigate the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a range of countries. The study will report on student achievement on a test of conceptual understandings and competencies in civic and citizenship education. It will also collect and analyse data about student dispositions and attitudes relating to civic and citizenship education. The study builds on the previous IEA study of civic education (CIVED) undertaken in 1999. A website with information about ICCS can be found at http://iccs.acer.edu.au/. It is recognised that there is substantial diversity in the field of civic and citizenship education within and across countries. Consequently, maximising the involvement of researchers from participating countries in this international comparative study is deemed to be of particular importance for the success of this study. Input from national research centres will be sought throughout the study and the consortium will develop strategies to encourage country contributions to instrument development as well as to the dissemination of results. This document gives an overview of the study and summarise the different aspects of its implementation. It also outlines the structure of the assessment framework and the process of the development and implementation of instruments as well as the benefits for participating countries. (Contains 4 footnotes, 1 figure and 3 tables.) [Paper prepared for the 51st annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society in Baltimore, 25 February-1 March 2007.]