The relationship between political participation intentions of adolescents and a participatory democratic climate at school in 35 countries

Abstract

In the literature it is expected that a participatory democratic climate is associated with civic and political engagement intentions of adolescents. In this paper we use a three level multilevel analysis to explore these relations: the individual, school and country level. Using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (2009) from 35 countries, we find that the individual student perception of a participatory democratic climate, especially openness in classroom discussions at the individual level, is positively associated with intended political participation. The teachers’ and principals’ perception of the participatory climate, on the other hand, were not related to the intention to participate. In this discussion we offer some ideas on how this individual level effect might be explained.