Can Participation in Mock Elections Boost Civic Competence among Students?

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive statistics.

Political competence	N	Min.	Max.	Mean	Std. D.
Political knowledge
Voting	8931	0	3	2.11	0.86
Political parties	8912	0	3	1.94	0.91
Democracy and politics	8564	0	3	1.88	0.85
Political attitudes
Political interest – politics	8531	0	3	1.30	0.97
Political interest – society	8609	0	3	1.66	0.91
Political engagement	8364	0	3	1.14	0.95
Political efficacy	8302	0	3	139	0.97
Gender	9539	0	1	0.53	0.50
Ethnic background	9745	0	1	0.87	0.33
Educational stage	9885	0	1	0.56	0.50

Table 2. Students self-reported effects of mock elections on civic competence.

By participating in the mock election…	N	Mean	Percent Applies perfectly	Percent Applies quite well	Percent Doesn’t apply particularly well	Percent Doesn’t apply at all
I have learned more about how to vote	8931	2.1	35.6	46.8	10.4	7.2
I have learned more about the Swedish political parties	8912	1.9	29	45.8	15.5	9.7
I know more about democracy and politics	8464	1.9	23.8	49.4	18.7	8.1
I have become more interested in politics	8531	1.3	11.8	31.6	31.7	25
I have become more interested in what is happening in society	8609	1.66	17	44.5	25.7	12.8
I have become more politically engaged	8364	1.1	9.9	23.8	37.1	29.2
I have become more certain that I can influence politics	8308	1.4	13.9	32.6	32.3	21.2

Table 3. Self-reported effects of mock elections on civic competence by gender.

	Gender	N	Mean	Std. D.	Std. Error Mean	Mean diff.	Percent	S/M/L
Political knowledge –voting	Women	4556	2.16	0.79	0.01	.097**	12.7	Moderate
	Men	4085	2.06	0.91	0.01
Political knowledge – political parties	Women	4549	1.97	0.86	0.01	.043**	4.4	Small
	Men	4067	1.93	0.95	0.02
Political knowledge – democracy and politics	Women	4334	1.88	0.81	0.01	−0.031	3.5
	Men	3952	1.91	0.89	0.01
Political interest – politics	Women	4331	1.29	0.94	0.01	−0.022	3.1
	Men	3921	1.32	0.99	0.02
Political interest – society	Women	4367	1.69	0.87	0.01	.0429**	5.5	Small
	Men	3960	1.64	0.94	0.02
Political engagement	Women	4221	1.13	0.92	0.01	−.0454**	4.2	Small
	Men	3864	1.17	0.98	0.02
Political efficacy	Women	4206	1.4	0.94	0.01	−0.0005	0
	Men	3827	1.4	0.99	0.02

Table 4. Self-reported effects of mock elections on civic competence by ethnic background.

	Ethnic background	N	Mean	Std. D.	Mean diff.	Per cent	S/M/L
Political knowledge –voting	Swedish-born	7730	2.09	0.86	−.149**	17.8	Large
	Foreign-born	1095	2.23	0.80
Political knowledge – political parties	Swedish-born	7719	1.92	0.91	−.158**	17.84	Large
	Foreign-born	1087	2.08	0.86
Political knowledge – democracy and politics	Swedish-born	7414	1.87	0.86	−.157**	18.4	Large
	Foreign-born	1051	2.03	0.85
Political interest – politics	Swedish-born	7379	1.29	0.97	−.107**	10.9	Large
	Foreign-born	1055	1.39	0.98
Political interest – society	Swedish-born	7442	1.64	0.90	−.151**	16.6	Large
	Foreign-born	1064	1.79	0.92
Political engagement	Swedish-born	7256	1.13	0.95	−.133**	13.9	Large
	Foreign-born	1008	1.26	0.96
Political efficacy	Swedish-born	7192	1.38	0.96	−.139**	14.7	Large
	Foreign-born	1015	1.51	0.99

Table 5. Self-reported effects of mock elections on civic competence by educational stage.

	Level	N	Mean	Std. D.	Std. Error Mean	Mean diff.	Percent	S/M/L
Political knowledge – voting	Primary	5063	2.21	0.8	0.01	.233**	26.8	Large
	Secondary	3868	1.98	0.91	0.02
Political knowledge – political parties	Primary	5049	2.1	0.84	0.01	.360**	39.9	Large
	Secondary	3863	1.74	0.97	0.02
Political knowledge – democracy and politics	Primary	4879	1.95	0.82	0.01	.151**	17.4	Large
	Secondary	3685	1.8	0.89	0.02
Political interest – politics	Primary	4921	1.26	0.97	0.01	−.089**	9.2	Large
	Secondary	3610	1.35	0.97	0.02
Political interest – society	Primary	4957	1.66	0.89	0.01	−0.003	0
	Secondary	3652	1.66	0.93	0.02
Political engagement	Primary	4771	1.12	0.94	0.01	−.056**	6.3	Moderate
	Secondary	3593	1.18	0.96	0.02
Political efficacy	Primary	4739	1.38	0.97	0.01	−0.029	3.1
	Secondary	3563	1.41	0.96	0.02