Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How School can Teach Civic Engagement Besides Civic Education: The Role of Democratic School Climate

  • Original Article
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Civic engagement, defined as involvement in community life, is influenced by reciprocal relationships between individuals and contexts and is a key factor that contributes to positive youth development. The present study evaluates a theoretical model linking perceived democratic school climate with adolescent civic engagement (operationalized as civic responsibility and intentions for future participation), taking into account the mediating role of civic discussions and perceived fairness at school. Participants were 403 adolescents (47.9 % male) ranging in age from 11 to 15 years old (mean age = 13.6). Path analysis results partially validated the proposed theoretical model. Higher levels of democratic school climate were associated with higher levels of adolescent civic responsibility; the association was fully mediated by civic discussions and perceived fairness at school. Adolescents’ civic responsibility, then, was positively associated with a stronger intention to participate in the civic domain in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In order to obtain a representative sample of the population in the whole city, the sample was not stratified by school, thus, the sample is not representative of the schools’ population (although approximates the size of the different schools), with the number of students in each school ranging from 1 to 20 across 71 different schools.

  2. According to several studies (e.g., Abraido-Lanza 1997; Rosario et al. 2005), in models without latent variables, standard fit indices are not particularly useful because they are often not sensitive to errors in model equations that are expressed from the W matrix. To demonstrate this, in a previous work (Lenzi et al. 2012b), a simple Monte Carlo simulation was performed based on parameters of the model.

References

  • Abraido-Lanza, A. F. (1997). Latinas with arthritis: Effects of illness, role identity, and competence on psychological. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, 601–627.

  • Arsenio, W., Adams, E., & Gold, J. (2009). Social information processing, moral reasoning, and emotion attributions: Relations with adolescents’ reactive and proactive aggression. Child Development, 80, 1739–1755.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arsenio, W., & Gold, J. (2006). The effects of social injustice and inequality on children’s moral judgments and behavior: Towards a theoretical model. Cognitive Development, 21, 388–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. New York: General Learning Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thoughts and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brady, H. E., Verba, S., & Schlozman, K. L. (1995). Beyond SES: A resource model of political participation. The American Political Science Review, 89, 271–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. E. (2006). Why we vote: How schools and communities shape our civic life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. E. (2008). Voice in the classroom: How an open classroom climate fosters political engagement among adolescents. Political Behavior, 30, 437–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casella, G., & Berger, R. (2002). Statistical inference. Duxbury, Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicognani, E., Zani, B., Fournier, B., Gavray, C., & Born, M. (2012). Gender differences in youths’ political engagement and participation. The role of parents and of adolescents’ social and civic participation. Journal of Adolescence, 35(3), 561–576.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Comune di Padova (2009). Annual Statistical Report [Annuario statistico 2009]. Settore Programmazione Controllo e Statistica.

  • Crick, N., & Dodge, K. (1994). A review and reformulation of social-information-processing mechanisms in children’s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cropanzano, R., Byrne, Z. S., Bobocel, D. R., & Rupp, D. E. (2001). Moral virtues, fairness heuristics, social entities, and other denizens of organizational justice. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 164–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diez-Roux, A. V. (2007). Environnement résidentiel et santé: état de la question et perspectives pour le futur. Revue d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, 55(1), 13–21.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Durlak, J. A., Taylor, R. D., Kawashima, K., Pachan, M. K., DuPre, E. P., Celio, C. I., et al. (2007). Effects of positive youth development programs on school, family, and community systems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 269–286.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ehman, L. H. (1980). Change in high school students’ political attitudes as a function of social studies classroom climate. American Educational Research Journal, 17, 253–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, C. A., Cumsille, P., Gill, S., & Gallay, L. S. (2007a). School and community climates and civic commitments: Patterns for ethnic minority and majority students. Journal of Educational Psychology Copyright, 99(2), 421–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, C. A., & Sherrod, L. R. (1998). Youth political development: An introduction. Journal of Social Issues, 54(3), 447–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, C. A., Syvertsen, A. K., & Stout, M. D. (2007b). Civic measurement models: Tapping adolescents’ civic engagement (CIRCLE Working Paper 55). College Park, MD: Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frazer, E. (1999). The problems of communitarian politics: Unity and conflict (p. 1999). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Developmental Psychology, 42(4), 698–713.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1990). Education for a critical consciousness. New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, G. D., & Gottfredson, D. C. (2001). What schools do to prevent delinquency and promote safe environments. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 12, 313–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, C. L. (1998). Becoming political: Comparative perspectives on citizenship education. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, Albany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, A., Brown, S. D., Pancer, S. M., & Ellis-Hale, K. (2007). Mandated community service in high school and subsequent civic engagement: The case of the ‘‘Double Cohort’’ in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 849–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen, R., Frankenberg, E., & Lenhoff, S. W. (2012). Diverse schools in a democratic society: New ways of understanding how school demographics affect civic and political learning. American Educational Research Journal, 49(5), 812–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, M. K., Stoker, L., & Bowers, J. (2009). Politics across generations: Family transmission re-examined. The Journal of Politics, 71(3), 782–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. K., Beebe, T., Mortimer, J. T., & Snyder, M. (1998). Volunteerism in adolescence: A process perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8(3), 309–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1996). LISREL 8: User’s reference guide. Chicago: Scientific Software International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., & Schutjer-Mance, K. (2005). California Civic Index [Monograph]. New York: Carnegie Corporation and Annenberg Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, J., Cornell, D., & Konold, T. (2012). Relationships between bullying, school climate, and student risk behaviors. School Psychology Quarterly, 27(3), 154–169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lenzi, M., Vieno, A., Pastore, M., & Santinello, M. (2013). Neighborhood social connectedness and adolescent civic engagement: An integrative model. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 34, 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenzi, M., Vieno, A., Perkins, D. D., Santinello, M., Elgar, F., Morgan, A., et al. (2012a). Family affluence, school and neighbourhood contexts and adolescents’ civic engagement: A cross-national study. American Journal of Community Psychology, 50(1–2), 197–210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lenzi, M., Vieno, A., Perkins, D. D., Santinello, M., Pastore, M., & Mazzardis, S. (2012b). Perceived neighborhood social resources as determinants of prosocial behavior in early adolescence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 50(1–2), 37–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Bowers, E. P., Lewin-Bizan, S., Gestsdottir, S., & Urban, J. B. (2011). Self-regulation processes and thriving in childhood and adolescence: A view of the issues. In R. M. Lerner, J. V. Lerner, E. P. Bowers, S. Lewin-Bizan, S. Gestsdottir, & J. B. Urban (Eds.), Thriving in childhood and adolescence: The role of self-regulation processes. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 133, 1–10.

  • Leventhal, G. S. (1980). What should be done with equity theory? In K. J. Gergen, M. S. Greenberg, & R. H. Willis (Eds.), Social exchange: Advances in theory and research (pp. 27–55). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lodewijkx, H. F. M., Kersten, G. L. E., & van Zomeren, M. (2008). Dual pathways to engage in ‘Silent Marches’ against violence: Moral outrage, moral cleansing and modes o identification. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 18, 153–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludden, A. B. (2011). Engagement in school and community civic activities among rural adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(9), 254–1270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCoy, D. Charles, Roy, A. L., & Sirkman, G. M. (2013). Neighborhood crime and school climate as predictors of elementary school academic quality: A cross-lagged panel analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 52, 128–140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montada, L., Kals, E., & Becker, R. (2007). Willingness for continued social commitment: A new concept in environmental research. Environment and Behavior, 39, 287–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montada, L., & Schneider, A. (1989). Justice and emotional reactions to the disadvantaged. Social Justice Research, 3, 313–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, M., Vieno, A., Perkins, D. D., & Santinello, M. (2008). Bullying in school and adolescent sense of empowerment: An analysis of relationships with parents, friends, and teachers. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 211–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newmann, F. M. (1990). A test of higher-order thinking in social studies: Persuasive writing on constitutional issues using the NAEP approach. Social Education, 54(6), 369–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niemi, R. G., & Junn, J. (1998). Civic education: What makes students learn. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overton, W. F. (2010). Life-span development: Concepts and issues. In W. F. Overton & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of life-span development (Vol. 1, pp. 1–29). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perliger, A., Canetti-Nisim, D., & Pedahzur, A. (2006). Democratic attitudes among high-school pupils: The role played by perceptions of class climate. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 17(1), 119–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prilleltensky, I., & Prilleltensky, O. (2006). Promoting well-being: Linking personal, organizational, and community change. New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2012). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.R-project.org/.

  • Rosario, M., Hunten, J., Maguen, S., Gwadz, M., & Smith, R. (2005). The coming-out process and its adaptational and health-related associations among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths: Stipulation and exploration of a model. American Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 133–160.

  • Rosseel Y., with contributions from many people. (2012). lavaan: Latent Variable Analysis. R package version 0.4-12. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package1/4lavaan.

  • Santinello, M., Vieno, A., & De Vogli, R. (2009). Primary headache in Italian early adolescents: The role of perceived teacher unfairness. Headache, 49, 366–374.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Satorra, A., & Bentler, P. M. (1988). Scaling corrections for Chi square statistics in covariance structure analysis. In Proceedings of the business and economic statistics section of the American Statistical Association (pp. 308–313).

  • Sherrod, L. R. (2007). Civic engagement as an expression of positive youth development. In R. K. Silbereisen & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Approaches to positive youth development (pp. 59–74). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sherrod, L. R., Torney-Purtra, J., & Flanagan, C. (2010). Research on the development of citizenship: A field comes of age. In L. R. Sherrod, J. Torney-Purtra, & C. Flanagan (Eds.), Handbook on the research of civic engagement in youth (pp. 1–20). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Torsheim, T., Wold, B., & Samdal, O. (2000). The Teacher and Classmate Support scale: Factor structure, test-retest reliability and validity in samples of 13- and 15-year-old adolescents. School Psychology International, 21, 195–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R., & Smith, H. J. (1999). Justice, social identity, and group processes. In T. R. Tyler, R. M. Kramer, & O. P. John (Eds.), The psychology of the social self (pp. 223–264). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vieno, A., Lenzi, M., & Santinello, M. (2013). Sense of community, unfairness, and psychosomatic symptoms: A multilevel analysis of Italian schools. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53, 142–145.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vieno, A., Nation, M., Perkins, D. D., & Santinello, M. (2007). Civic participation and the development of adolescent behavior problems. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(6), 761–777.

  • Vieno, A., Perkins, D. D., Smith, T. M., & Santinello, M. (2005). Democratic school climate and sense of community in school: A multilevel analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(3/4), 327–341.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • von Rhoneck, C., Grob, K., Schnaitmann, G. W., & Volker, B. (1998). Learning in basic Electricity: How do motivation, cognitive and classroom climate factors influence achievement in physics? Journal of Science Education, 20(5), 551–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R., Griffith, D., & Abdul-Adil, J. (1999). Sociopolitical development as an antidote for oppression-theory and action. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 255–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R. J., & Guessous, O. (2006). Sociopolitical development: The missing link in research and policy on adolescents. In S. Ginwright, P. Noguera, & J. Cammarota (Eds.), Beyond resistance! Youth activism and community change: New democratic possibilities for practice and policy for America’s youth (pp. 59–80). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R., Williams, N., & Jagers, R. (2003). Sociopolitical development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 185–194.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are very thankful to Valentina Gili for her valuable contribution in the development of the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, via Belzoni 80, 35131, Padua, Italy

    Michela Lenzi, Alessio Vieno, Massimiliano Pastore & Massimo Santinello

  2. The Gevirtz School, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Jill Sharkey & Ashley Mayworm

  3. Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Valle d’Aosta, Aosta, Italy

    Luca Scacchi

Authors
  1. Michela Lenzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessio Vieno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jill Sharkey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ashley Mayworm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Luca Scacchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Massimiliano Pastore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Massimo Santinello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michela Lenzi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lenzi, M., Vieno, A., Sharkey, J. et al. How School can Teach Civic Engagement Besides Civic Education: The Role of Democratic School Climate. Am J Community Psychol 54, 251–261 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9669-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9669-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation