ICCS 2009 Asian Report: Civic Knowledge and Attitudes among Lower-Secondary Students in Five Asian Countries

This report presents findings from the Asian regional module of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). ICCS studied the ways in which young people in lower-secondary schools are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens. Five countries participated in the Asian regional module. These five countries are Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. Data were gathered from approximately 24,000 Grade 8 students and 10,000 teachers in nearly 700 schools. The Asian module focused on the individual characteristics underpinning "Asian citizenship," as well as students' perceptions of and attitudes toward the role of government and its responsibilities, the legal system, and preservation of a national traditional culture. The data gathered for this module provide unique evidence on a number of Asia-specific aspects that may be used to improve policy and practice in civic and citizenship education. The data also provide a new baseline for future research in this area. The results of analyses presented in this report revealed that Asian countries place similar emphases on self-cultivation and moral development in their approaches to civic education. The majority of young people surveyed agreed that morality is a critical aspect of both good citizenship and good political leadership, and they showed a strong sense of Asian identity. Some differences across the region were also evident. For example, endorsement of authoritarian government conduct was significantly lower among students in East Asia than those in Southeast Asia. Students with higher civic knowledge scores reported less acceptance of authoritarian government practices and corruption in public service. Appended are: (1) Instrument design, samples, and participation rates; (2) Percentiles and standard deviations for civic knowledge; (3) The scaling of questionnaire items; (4) Item-by-score maps for questionnaire scale; and (5) Organizations and individuals involved in ICCS. (Contains 36 tables, 11 figures, and 18 footnotes.)