Measuring citizenship competences: Assessment of measurement invariance

Highlights: • Standardised questionnaires are used to measure the outcomes of citizenship education. • A prerequisite for cross-group comparisons based on these questionnaires is an assessment of measurement invariance. • This study used data from 6035 students from 87 Dutch primary schools to examine the measurement invariance of citizenship knowledge, attitude, and skill across sex, socioeconomic position and migration background. • The measurement invariance was sufficient in most cases. • Periodic assessment of measurement invariance in instruments measuring citizenship competences is important due to the dynamic nature of the construct. Purpose: Standardised questionnaires are used to measure the outcomes of citizenship education. These outcomes are often compared across groups to document different outcomes, for example, between boys and girls. A prerequisite for cross-group comparisons is an assessment of measurement invariance.  Methodology: This study used data from 6035 students from 87 Dutch primary schools to examine the measurement invariance of the Citizenship Competences Questionnaire (Ten Dam et al., 2011). Dutch schools use this questionnaire to gain insight into students’ citizenship knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Measurement invariance was assessed across sex, socioeconomic position, and migration background. Findings: Measurement invariance was sufficient in most cases, allowing for cross-group comparisons of associations between latent constructs and their indicators, and in some cases, for cross-group comparisons of the latent means. We conclude by emphasising that periodic assessment of measurement invariance in instruments measuring citizenship competences is important due to the dynamic nature of the construct

Inspecting School Social Quality: Assessing and Improving School Effectiveness in the Social Domain

Purpose: School inspection of school social quality is, in contrast to inspection in the cognitive domain, still in its early phase of development. While schools are shown to affect social outcomes, the interplay of mechanisms makes it difficult to isolate the effect of the school. This paper aims to evaluate different approaches to inspecting school social quality. Methodology: Based on a school effectiveness model, we consider what aspects could be taken into consideration to evaluate school social quality. Findings and implications: Using insights from inspection of cognitive outcomes, we present three ideal-type models of inspection, focusing on outcomes, school improvement, or process. There is as of yet no clear best approach to inspecting school social quality, as inspection of school quality can influence school performance in a range of ways. Implications of the described models and possible strengths and weaknesses are discussed

Civics education in primary school. Characteristics of schools and competencies of students.

Deze studie beschrijft de vormgeving en opbrengsten van burgerschapsonderwijs in het basisonderwijs, en presenteert een representatief beeld van de stand van zaken anno schooljaar 2020/21. Het geeft daarmee een overzicht van de situatie kort voor de inwerkingtreding van de aangescherpte wettelijke eisen rond bevordering van burgerschap. Aan het onderzoek namen leerlingen, leerkrachten en schoolleiders op 94 scholen deel. De resultaten laten zien dat basisscholen verschillen in de manier waarop ze invulling geven aan burgerschapsvorming. Een latente klasse analyse toont een groep scholen die zich onderscheidt met gunstige condities voor effectief burgerschapsonderwijs. Ook blijkt een relatie met burgerschapscompetenties van leerlingen, waar het gaat om houdingen en zelf ingeschatte vaardigheden. Multilevel analyse laat vervolgens zien dat de rol van de school, in vergelijking met de invloed van leerlingachtergrondkenmerken, die het grootste deel van verschillen in burgerschapsuitkomsten verklaren, bescheiden is.Deze studie beschrijft de vormgeving en opbrengsten van burgerschapsonderwijs in het basisonderwijs, en presenteert een representatief beeld van de stand van zaken anno schooljaar 2020/21. Het geeft daarmee een overzicht van de situatie kort voor de inwerkingtreding van de aangescherpte wettelijke eisen rond bevordering van burgerschap. Aan het onderzoek namen leerlingen, leerkrachten en schoolleiders op 94 scholen deel. De resultaten laten zien dat basisscholen verschillen in de manier waarop ze invulling geven aan burgerschapsvorming. Een latente klasse analyse toont een groep scholen die zich onderscheidt met gunstige condities voor effectief burgerschapsonderwijs. Ook blijkt een relatie met burgerschapscompetenties van leerlingen, waar het gaat om houdingen en zelf ingeschatte vaardigheden. Multilevel analyse laat vervolgens zien dat de rol van de school, in vergelijking met de invloed van leerlingachtergrondkenmerken, die het grootste deel van verschillen in burgerschapsuitkomsten verklaren, bescheiden is

Are schools’ qualification and civic outcomes related? : the role of schools’ student composition and tracking

Published online: 4 September 2022In preparing generations for the future, schools fulfill a qualification and a civic task: providing youngsters knowledge and skills for the labor market, and equipping them to navigate democracy and society. Little research has considered how schools combine these tasks, particularly in relation to schools’ student composition in terms of socioeconomic (dis)advantages across vocational and academic tracks, the focus of this study. By means of a unique, combined dataset, qualification and civic outcome indicators of 101 Dutch secondary schools were examined. Results showed that schools’ qualification and civic outcomes were more positively related in academic than in vocational tracks, possibly informed by schools’ student composition: the role of student composition was stronger in academic than vocational tracks for both qualification and civic outcomes. This is discussed in relation to schools’ role in mitigating versus reproducing societal inequalities

Functionele gemeenschappen, godsdienstigheid en prestaties in het voortgezet onderwijs

secondary education Using longitudinal data on 7,300 students at 150 schools in the Netherlands, we discuss the importance of being part of a functional community and the religiosity of students for their scholastic achievement in high school. According to Coleman and Hoffer (1987)a functional community strengthens the educational opportunities of students. We argue that the functional community effect is possibly confounded with the religious characteristics of these communities. Our main questions are: Does a functional community exert influence on the achievement of students, and to what extent does the religious background of students affect academic achievement? We expect that a functional community is beneficial for students who are religious and actively involved in the community. Furthermore, we hypothesize a relationship between the religious background and achievement. In order to answer our questions, we use descriptive and multilevel analyses. We conclude that the differences between schools are large. Only a small proportion of all schools is part of a functional community. For these functional community schools, no effect on achievement is found after controlling for religious background. For the students’ religiosity positive as well as negative effects on scholastic achievement are reported.