Ellen Claes

Truancy as a Contextual and School-related Problem. A Comparative Multilevel analysis of Country and School Characteristics on Civic Knowledge among 14 year olds

In recent years, various governments and education agencies have developed stricter policies to reduce truancy levels, mainly based on the argument that truancy is associated with risk behaviour, crime and substance abuse. In this article, we use a large, 28‐nation comparative survey among 14 year olds to detect general patterns in consequences and causes of truancy by using multilevel analysis differentiating between the individual, school and country levels. The analysis shows that schools can have a major impact on truancy levels by promoting school involvement from parents and by providing a supportive and authoritative environment. The analysis also demonstrates that high truancy levels at school reduce test scores of pupils, even after including a battery of socio‐economic control variables. In the conclusion, we argue that efforts to reduce school absenteeism cannot be limited to repressive “truancy sweeps”, but should also take into account school climate and the interaction between pupils, parents and schools. Reducing truancy should not be seen just as a law and order problem since truancy has a significant effect on educational achievement, especially among children with lower status family backgrounds.

The Relation Between Civic Education and Political Attitudes and Behavior: A Two-Year Panel Study Among Belgian Late Adolescents

It is generally assumed that civic education efforts will have a positive effect on the political attitudes and behaviors of adolescents and young adults. In the present study, we distinguish among formal civic education, an open classroom climate, and active learning strategies, and we explore their relation with political interest, efficacy, trust, and participation. To analyze these relations, we rely on the results of a two-year panel study among late adolescents in Belgium. The results indicate that formal civic education (classroom instruction) and active learning strategies (school council membership and, to a lesser extent, group projects) are positively related to political attitudes and behavior. An open classroom climate, on the other hand, is significantly related to political trust. We conclude that there is no reason to privilege specific forms of civic education, as each form relates to different relevant political attitudes and behaviors.

Enduring Gender Bias in Reporting on Political Elite Positions Media Coverage of Female MPs in Belgian News Broadcasts (2003–2011)

In Belgium, like in numerous other democracies, the representation of women in parliament has risen sharply in recent decades, partly because of gender quota legislation. This rapid evolution implies that traditional notions on the presence of gender bias in media reporting need to be re-assessed. Relying on data from more than six thousand full newscasts, we examine the allotted speaking time to members of parliament (MPs) from 2003 until 2011 in the two main television news broadcasts in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to determine which factors influence the probability and volume of television news coverage of MPs. The results indicate that—even controlling for alternative explanations—news media persist in a biased treatment of female MPs: Female MPs are significantly less likely to be allotted speaking time, and they receive less speaking time than their male colleagues. Moreover, results show that this gap in media coverage is present especially for elite and thus newsworthy positions. Apparently, gender bias in the media persists, even when the political system evolves rapidly toward equal representation.

“Yes, But Suppose Everyone Turned Gay?”: The Structure of Attitudes toward Gay and Lesbian Rights among Islamic Youth in Belgium

Various quantitative studies have suggested the occurrence of hostile feelings toward LGBT rights among Islamic communities in Western societies. We know less, however, about the structure of these attitudes among Belgian Islamic youth. Based on focus groups and in-depth interviews, we try to disentangle these elements. The interviews suggest that feelings toward LGBT rights are not based on a discourse of individual rights but are considered within the background of dense family relations, strongly linked to notions of family honor and the duty of the individual to contribute to the stability of the family and the community. While the respondents endorsed the notion that the basic scriptures of Islam prohibit homosexual behavior, there was more disagreement about what this entails for the moral status of the individual involved in this kind of behavior. It is suggested that this form of disagreement might serve as a leverage point for the development of a more tolerant outlook toward LGBT rights among Islamic communities.

Newspapers in Education: a critical inquiry into the effects of using newspapers as teaching agents

Background: More than 52 countries make use of the ‘Newspapers in Education’ programme. In the last 10 years, in Belgium, an application of the international programme Newspapers in Education has become a well-known way of stimulating adolescents to explore the political realm and challenge the way they think about and participate in democracies. However, the longer-term effectiveness of the programme is not fully understood because studies tend to focus on a period shortly after programme participation. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether pupils who participated in the Newspapers in Education programme scored more highly on scales of media use/habits and social and political attitudes, in a survey conducted more than half a year after programme participation. Programme description: The programme Newspapers in Education was evaluated. Newspapers in Education makes newspaper reading accessible to young people by providing a free newspaper package containing a variety of national newspapers for each student. This way, the programme aims at connecting young people to current affairs, and wants to stimulate interactive ways of teaching to attain the goals that are often specified when the teaching of citizenship education is concerned. The programme, moreover, has the firm intention of creating a generation of critical thinkers and informed citizens. Sample details: For the assessment of the effects of the Newspapers in Education programme, the ‘Belgian Youth Survey’ was used. The Belgian Youth Survey 2006 is a representative survey conducted in 2006 among more than 6000 15- and 16-year-olds in Belgium (both in the French and Dutch communities). However, for these analyses we focussed on the data of the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, i.e. Flanders (N = 3453), because the Newspapers in Education programme has manifested itself on a continuous basis in this community for several years. Design and methods: The Belgian Youth Survey 2006 is based on written surveys filled out by the respondents in schools. The response rate at the Flemish school level is 72%. This survey tried to tap into social and political attitudes of young people and also provided us with specific background characteristics, which we could control for when looking into programme effects. Because the aim of this study was to uncover longer-term effects of the Newspapers in Education programme whilst controlling for individual background effects, bivariate and regression analyses were used. Main findings in relation to the research goals/objectives: Results suggested that the participants of Newspapers in Education may follow the news, particularly on the Internet, more often than their non-participating peers; they also displayed a slightly higher level of political knowledge. However, many other differences between participating and non-participating groups were not significant. In addition, a slight association was apparent in the media use of students receiving vocational education. The relationship between participating in the programme and tolerance towards ethnic minorities was also significant for the whole sample. Main conclusion: In this study, only minor differences were detected between the media use/habits and social and political attitudes of participants and non-participants in the Flemish Newspapers in Education programme. It is possible that the brevity of the programme itself may make it difficult for its impact to be evident six months after participation.

Let’s Talk Politics: Which Individual and Classroom Compositional Characteristics Matter in Classroom Discussions?

Deliberative democratic theory puts discussions at the centre of democracy. Schools are places where young people can practise such discussions. In this article, we argue that these perceptions of deliberation in class are differential for different young people. Individual student characteristics matter when making schools successful in creating an ‘open discussion climate’. Using the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2009, we find that gender, self-efficacy and socio-economic background have an impact on the perception of such a climate. If students evaluate discussion opportunities differently based on background characteristics, alternate strategies should be developed to get everyone to deliberate. Future research looking into the quality of discussions should take this into account, as boys or students with a lower SES (socio-economic status) might need extra stimulation to perceive the classroom as a place to discuss public matters. Also, schools and policymakers should be aware when deciding which civic education strategy should be followed to obtain the desired results.

The Occupational Roles of Women and Ethnic Minorities on Primetime Television in Belgium. An Analysis of Occupational Status Measurements

In this study, we investigate differences in occupational status between women and men, and between ethnic minority and majority members, by means of a content analysis of Belgian prime-time television in 2013. We evaluate the accuracy of these television portrayals using interreality comparison strategies. Results indicate that although in television content women obtain higher average scores for occupational status than men, this is mainly due to the underrepresentation of women in low-status occupations. Although previous studies focused on the absence of women in high-status jobs, this analysis shows for the first time that women are also absent in low-status manual and industrial jobs. Ethnic minorities have lower average scores for occupational status. Moreover, interaction terms made clear that this especially holds for female ethnic minorities, suggesting that mechanisms of intersectionality are at play. In general, the labor world as portrayed on television diverges strongly from the real labor world.

The Effect of Political Science Education on Political Trust and Interest: Results from a 5-Year Panel Study.

ABSTRACT Citizenship education has evolved substantially in recent decades, with a rapid proliferation of education forms and approaches. The currently available evaluation studies, however, do not allow us to determine what kind of approach can be considered as a best practice for schools and education systems. In this article, we rely on the results of a 5-year panel study to investigate the long-term effects of various forms of citizenship education. Using the Belgian Political Panel Survey (n = 3,025), a three-wave longitudinal panel survey of 16-, 18- and 21-year-old Belgian late adolescents and young adults, we determine which citizenship education effort (i.e., classroom instruction, being a member of a school council, and an open-classroom climate) has a long-term effect on political trust and political interest. The results suggest that classroom instruction, the presence of an open-classroom climate, and being a member of a school board are positively related to political trust. We also find that classroom instruction and being a member of a school board are significantly associated with higher levels of political interest. We close with some observations on what these findings imply for citizenship education policies.