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England in a Comparative Light: Lower Secondary

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Education, Democracy and Inequality

Part of the book series: Education, Economy and Society ((EDECSO))

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Abstract

This chapter compares England to other countries in Europe and focuses on lower secondary education. It explores whether other countries are better able to provide equality of access to political learning and to minimise social disparities in political engagement than England. It also assesses whether these disparities are related to characteristics of national education systems. The chapter uses the 2009 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) to explore these questions. It finds that social disparities in both access to learning opportunities and expressions of political engagement are largest in England. The diverse school landscape, high levels of school autonomy and pervasive use of grouping by ability, which are key characteristics of the English system, are proposed as explanations for these patterns.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Electoral participation and formal participation represent the outcomes of voting and political party membership, respectively (as discussed in Chap. 2). We are aware that electoral participation and formal participation include more items and thus tap wider concepts. Yet we still consider them to capture voting and party membership well because the other items included in these measures are all highly correlated to voting and party membership (as demonstrated by the high alpha reliabilities of these measures in all countries participating in ICCS—see again Schulz et al. 2011, 164–257). In view of their item composition, these measures can be said to represent conventional less demanding and conventional more demanding forms of participation, respectively, which are also defining characteristics of voting and party membership.

  2. 2.

    The calculation of these scales was done as follows. First, we reversed the response scales of the individual items so that higher values represent higher participation. We then added up the values of the items included in the scale. Next, the sum total was subtracted by the number of items in the scale. Finally, this sum total was multiplied by the quotient of 10 divided by the highest value of the sum total.

  3. 3.

    Correlations at the country level can be obtained from the authors upon request.

  4. 4.

    We changed the continuous SES variable into a variable with three classes (1 = bottom 33%; 2 = middle 33%; 3 = top 33%) and then assessed mean levels of the four outcomes by class using error bars (the analyses can be obtained from the authors upon request). This enabled us to explore absolute levels of support for the four forms of participation by social class.

  5. 5.

    Voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs: kaderberoepsleerweg.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Science, University of Roehampton, London, UK

    Bryony Hoskins

  2. Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK

    Jan Germen Janmaat

Authors
  1. Bryony Hoskins
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  2. Jan Germen Janmaat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bryony Hoskins .

Appendix: ICCS Items Used in the Analyses

Appendix: ICCS Items Used in the Analyses

Items included in the scales

  1. 1.

    Expected adult electoral participation

  • Listed below are different ways adults can take an active part in political life. When you are an adult, what do you think you will do?

    1. a.

      Vote in local elections

    2. b.

      Vote in national elections

    3. c.

      Get information about candidate before voting in an election

  1. 2.

    Expected participation in future legal protest

  • There are many different ways how citizens may protest against things they believe are wrong. Would you take part in any of the following forms of protest in the future?

    1. a.

      Taking part in a peaceful march or rally

    2. b.

      Collecting signatures for a petition

    3. c.

      Choosing not to buy certain products

    4. d.

      Contacting <an elected representative>

  1. 3.

    Expected adult participation in political activities

  • Listed below are different ways adults can take an active part in political life. When you are an adult, what do you think you will do?

    1. a.

      Join a political party

    2. b.

      Join a trade union

    3. c.

      Help a candidate or party during an election campaign

    4. d.

      Stand as a candidate <in local elections>

  1. 4.

    Expected participation in future illegal protest

  • There are many different ways how citizens may protest against things they believe are wrong. Would you take part in any of the following forms of protest in the future?

    1. a.

      Spray-painting protest slogans on walls

    2. b.

      Blocking traffic

    3. c.

      Occupying public buildings

  1. 5.

    Civic participation at school

  • At school, have you ever done any of the following activities? Please think about all schools you have been enrolled at since the first year of <ISCED level 1>.

    1. a.

      Voting for <class representative> or <school parliament>

    2. b.

      Becoming a candidate for <class representative> or <school parliament>

    3. c.

      Active participation in a debate

    4. d.

      Taking part in discussions at a student assembly

    5. e.

      Taking part in decision-making about how the school is run

  • <No, I have never done this; Yes, I have done this but more than a year ago; Yes, I have done this within the last 12 months>

  1. 6.

    Open climate of classroom discussions

  • When discussing political and social issues during regular lessons, how often do the following things happen?

    1. a.

      Students feel free to disagree openly with their teachers about political and social issues during class

    2. b.

      Students are encouraged to make up their own minds about issues

    3. c.

      Teachers respect students’ opinions and encourage them to express them during class

    4. d.

      Students feel free to express opinions in class even when their opinions are different from most of the other students

    5. e.

      Teachers encourage students to discuss political or social issues about which people have different opinions

  • <Never; Rarely; Sometimes; Often>

  1. 7.

    Internal political efficacy

  • How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about you and politics?

    1. a.

      I know more about politics than most people my age

    2. b.

      When political issues or problems are being discussed, I usually have something to say

    3. c.

      I am able to understand most political issues easily

    4. d.

      I have political opinions worth listening to

    5. e.

      As an adult I will be able to take part in politics

    6. f.

      I have a good understanding of the political issues facing this country

  • <Strongly disagree; Disagree; Agree; Strongly agree>

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Hoskins, B., Janmaat, J.G. (2019). England in a Comparative Light: Lower Secondary. In: Education, Democracy and Inequality. Education, Economy and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48976-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48976-0_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-48975-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-48976-0

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