International civic and citizenship education study - iccs - IEA

School characteristics and resources: School resources consist of both material and human resources,
and there is strong debate on the extent to which school resources can contribute to school
development and improvement (Hanushek, 1994, 1997). Beyond the quality of teachers, there
is evidence that teacher density—as measured by the students to teacher ratio—is associated
with some student outcomes (McNeal, 1997).
The ICCS school questionnaire includes items asking about the demographic characteristics
of schools (Anderson, Ryan, & Shapiro, 1989). These characteristics are associated with the
variables usually included in a description of a school. The questionnaire also includes a few
questions asking for fundamental information, notably the type of school (public/private),
students’ enrolment, and number of teachers.
School management: Schools differ within and across countries with reference to the degree
of autonomy in defining their own educational policies in terms of their management in
the narrowest sense (school governance, financing, teaching and non-teaching staff ) and
their organization of curricular and teaching and learning activities (curricular contents,
cross-curricular activities, choice of textbooks, assessment and evaluation) (Eurydice, 2007).
Individual schools’ degree of autonomy is a factor affecting the possibility of establishing
specific courses and activities (both curricular and extra-curricular ones) linked to civic and
citizenship education. A broader degree of autonomy can give greater opportunities for
the effective participation within democratic school governance of not only teachers and
students but also of administrative staff, parents, and the community as a whole. The school
improvement literature shows that at least some autonomy favors the success of improvement
efforts (Reezigt & Creemers, 2005).
The questions included in the school questionnaire investigate the level of schools’ autonomy
in management and in educational planning. Opportunity to organize specific courses,
projects, curricular and extra-curricular activities, to choose textbooks, and to define criteria
and procedures for assessment, evaluation, and self-evaluation all contribute to characterizing
the school educational plan as one that is more or less consistent with the development of
effective civic and citizenship education. Furthermore, the existence of national legislation and
regulations and of standards concerning the results that students should achieve, can act, within
different school systems, as a resource or a constraint for the development of activities related to
civic and citizenship education.
The principals’ answers to the questionnaire items also give insight into the extent to which a
school has autonomy to determine its own educational planning and educational activities and
how these relate to the construction of an open and democratic school culture. These responses
furthermore show the extent to which the organization of decisionmaking processes influences
the participation of teachers, parents, and students in the running of the school.
Teacher, parent, and student participation at school: Participative governance practices help
characterize schools as democratic learning environments. Allowing for the participation of
teachers and parents assists each school to understand the variety of student learning needs
and to secure teachers’ and parents’ commitment to supporting school educational activities
(Ranson, Farrell, Peim, & Smith, 2005).
Students’ participation in the running of the school helps to build a democratic school
environment and to give students opportunity to develop skills and attitudes related to civic
and citizenship education. CIVED showed that students’ participation in school councils and
student parliaments related positively to students’ civic knowledge and engagement (Losito &
D’Apice, 2003; Torney-Purta et al., 2001).
ICCS ASSeSSment FrAmework
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