Assessing the Intended Participation of Young Adolescents as Future Citizens: Comparing Results from Five East Asian Countries

Abstract

Recent developments in the economic and social politics of Europe have led to a quickened interest in the intentions of young people to participate as citizens. This paper focuses on students from 26 European countries who were in Grade 8 in 2009 and who will typically gain formal electoral rights in 2013. It analyzes young adolescents' intentions to participate as citizens through political participation as adults through electoral and active political participation. The paper is based on the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study which investigated the ways in which young people in lower secondary schools were being prepared to undertake their roles as citizens. A central aspect of students' preparedness to become citizens in a democracy is their disposition to actively participate in society. This paper contains an analysis of measures of students' intentions to participate as citizens in civic life and students' current participation in civic activities. It is based on data from approximately 80,000 students from 26 countries comprising measures of student civic knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and background. Additional contextual data were collected using surveys of principals and teachers of the sampled schools. The paper describes extent of past, current and expected civic participation and which factors influence students’ current involvement or motivation for future active participation.