Development of civic and political engagement in schools: A structural equation model of democratic school characteristics’ influence on different types of participation

ABSTRACT

Democratic school climate, critical reflection, and student participation at school have been linked to the development of civic and political attitudes. The study aims to identify the contribution of these characteristics to the development of civic and political attitudes and their impact on students’ participation (civic, political, activist, and lifestyle/online). Questionnaire data were collected in two waves with 1589 students from four European countries (Italy, Sweden, Germany, and the Czech Republic). Structural equation modelling tested the effects of school characteristics on different types of participation, mediated by institutional trust, political efficacy, and political interest. The results highlight the importance of opportunities for active involvement and critical reflection in fostering interest, efficacy, and all forms of participation activities. Democratic school climate was found to positively impact institutional trust and efficacy, but not participation. The findings highlight the need for a school environment that invites critical reflection and gives value to students’ participation.

KEYWORDS:

• Civic engagement
• political participation
• school climate
• school participation
• critical reflection

Acknowledgments

The research reported in this paper was funded by the European Union, Horizon 2020 Programme, Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions (www.catcheyou.eu), grant agreement number 649538. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available from AMS Acta Institutional Research Repository – University of Bologna at http://doi.org/10.6092/unibo/amsacta/6420. This data is made available for open access in compliance with H2020 Program regulation, following the guidelines stipulated by the Data Management Plan adopted by the CATCH-EyoU research project.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2022.2094362

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Union, Horizon 2020 framework programme, under grant agreement number [649538] for the project CATCH-EyoU – Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solution; H2020 Societal Challenges [649538]