Andrés Sandoval-Hernández

Cultural, social, and economic capital constructs in international assessments: an evaluation using exploratory structural equation modeling

The article employs exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to evaluate constructs of economic, cultural, and social capital in international large-scale assessment (LSA) data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009. ESEM integrates the theory-generating approach of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and theory-testing approach of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). It relaxes the zero-loading restriction in CFA, allowing items to load on different factors simultaneously, and it provides measurement invariance tests across countries not available in EFA. A main criticism of international LSA studies is the extended use of indicators poorly grounded in theory, like socioeconomic status, that prevent the study of mechanisms underlying associations with student outcomes. This article contributes to addressing this criticism by providing statistical criteria to evaluate the fit of well-defined sociological constructs with the empirical data.

Assessing two Theoretical Frameworks of Civic Engagement

The purpose of this study was to empirically test two major theoretical models: a modified version of the social capital model (Pattie, Seyd and Whiteley, 2003), and the Informed Social Engagement Model (Barr and Selman, 2014; Selman and Kwok, 2010), to explain civic participation and civic knowledge of adolescents from Chile, Colombia and Mexico, using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009 (Schulz, et al., 2010). The models were used to identify factors associated with different levels of knowledge and civic participation: expected participation in legal and illegal protests, and electoral participation. Data were analyzed using regression analysis. Results show that the Informed Social Engagement approach (ISEM), explains better the observed differences in civic knowledge and civic participation, than the Social Capital Model (SCM). That is, the expected values associated with the variables included in the ISEM are closer to the observed values, than those predicted by the SCM. This is true for the three outcomes (expected participation in legal protests, illegal protests, and electoral participation) and in the three countries analyzed (Chile, Colombia and Mexico).

Young Citizens Participation: Empirical Testing of a Conceptual Model:

A growing body of literature from different disciplines addresses concepts and measurement of citizenship. The present article seeks to contribute to this field by examining the issue of youth citizenship from a comparative international perspective and proposing a simplified conceptual model that can be operationalized. This model includes a community dimension, which refers to individual’s relationship with their community associations, and a civic dimension, concerning institutional processes such as voting and/or political activism. The model was tested using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and measurement equivalence for eighth-grade students (n = 139.875) across 38 countries that participated in the International Civic and Citizenship Study (2009). Our results find support for the proposed conceptual model and its invariance across countries, and we discuss the implications for theory and further research.

Teaching Tolerance in a Globalized World

This open access thematic report identifies factors and conditions that can help schools and education systems promote tolerance in a globalized world. The IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) is a comparative research program designed to investigate the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens, and provides a wealth of data permitting not only comparison between countries but also comparisons between schools within countries, and students within countries. Advanced analytical methods provide insights into relationships between students’ attitudes towards cultural diversity and the characteristics of the students themselves, their families, their teachers and school principals. The rich diversity of educational and cultural contexts in the 38 countries who participated in ICCS 2009 are also acknowledged and addressed. Readers interested in civic education and adolescents’ attitudes towards cultural diversity will find the theoretical perspectives explored engaging. For readers interested in methodology, the advanced analytical methods employed present textbook examples of how to address cross-cultural comparability of measurement instruments and multilevel data structures in international large-scale assessments (ILSA). Meanwhile, those interested in educational policy should find the identification and comparison of malleable factors across education systems that contribute to positive student attitudes towards cultural diversity a useful and thought-provoking resource.

Teaching Tolerance in a Globalized World: An Introduction

The increasing diversity of student populations is a global educational trend. The relatively recent rapid influx of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, coupled with issues of increasing intolerance, social exclusion and feelings of alienation, and extremism among young people, are posing complex challenges for educational systems around the world. Education has a key role to play in preparing future generations to address these problems and ensuring that young people acquire the social, civic, and intercultural competences needed for active and successful participation in society. This book presents five empirical studies, designed to examine differing factors and conditions that may help schools and teachers in their endeavors to promote tolerance in a globalized world. The 2009 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) provided the research data. This introductory chapter describes the overall theoretical framework, discusses key constructs, and outlines the aims guiding the five studies, concluding with an overview of all chapters.

Teaching Tolerance in a Globalized World: Final Remarks

Each of the five empirical studies presented in this report aimed to identify factors and conditions that help schools and teachers to promote tolerance in a globalized world. Each study acknowledged the complex, hierarchical layers of explanatory mechanisms, while focusing on what could be learned from in-depth analysis of data collected by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement’s International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009. In this chapter, key findings are summarized, while acknowledging limitations and caveats, and avenues for further research are identified. The report findings also flag some potential implications for policymakers.

How Do We Assess Civic Attitudes Toward Equal Rights? Data and Methodology

Analyzing tolerance in youth may help educators to identify strategies to promote tolerance. This chapter describes the IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2009, outlining the main objectives of the survey and the assessment design. Specific variables were selected from the ICCS data for the five empirical studies in this report. After assessing the variables used in the different chapters, the methodological features common to the different analytical chapters of this book are discussed in greater detail.

The Civic Competence Gaps in Chile, Colombia and Mexico and the Factors that Account for the Civic Knowledge Gap

Researchers and educators interested in empowering young people with the citizen competencies they need to participate actively and constructively as members of their society have documented the existence of significant differences among youth from advantaged and disadvantaged SES backgrounds in the civic knowledge, attitudes and skills they need to live as constructive citizens and influence decisions in the political process, in ways that protect their rights and interests in society.

Affective and Cognitive Processes as Determinants of Civic Participation in Latin American Countries

It is generally accepted that one of the objectives of education in schools is to introduce children and young people to the various dimensions of politics. Schools teach children how states function, emphasizing the way democratic governments work. Civic and Ethics courses promote not only knowledge of politics and democracy, but also strive to give students an understanding of behaviors that lead to harmonious co-existence in society.