Koen Slootmaeckers

Too Afraid to Learn: Attitudes towards Statistics as a Barrier to Learning Statistics and to Acquiring Quantitative Skills

Quantitative skills are important for studying and understanding social reality. Political science students, however, experience difficulties in acquiring and retaining such skills. Fear of statistics has often been listed among the major causes for this problem. This study aims at understanding the underlying factors for this anxiety and proposes a potential remedy. More specifically, we advocate the integration of quantitative material into non-methodological courses. After assessing the influence of dispositional, course-related and person-related factors on the attitudes towards statistics among political science students, we provide insights into the relation between these attitudes on the one hand and the learning and retention of statistics skills on the other. Our results indicate that a curriculum-wide approach to normalise the use of quantitative methods can not only foster interest in statistics but also foster retention of the acquired skills.

The Co-evolution of EU’s Eastern Enlargement and LGBT Politics: An Ever Gayer Union?

The EU identifies and presents itself as an organisation founded on ‘fundamental values’ and as a defender and guardian of fundamental rights. The development of this ‘fundamental rights myth’ (Journal of Common Market Studies 48(1):45–66, 2010) has taken place against the broader backdrop of a globalisation of human rights discourse (Journal of Common Market Studies 48(1):45–66, 2010; McGill Law Journal 49(4):951–968, 2004). Fundamental values have also increasingly become the narrative driving EU foreign policy, including enlargement and neighbourhood policies. As Article 3(5) clarifies, ‘In its relations with the wider world, the [European] Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to […] the protection of human rights’. Article 49 sets forth respect for the so-called founding values—‘respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights’ (Art. 2 TEU)—as a precondition for EU membership.

Editors’ Introduction to the Thematic Issue: Mad about Methods? Teaching Research Methods in Political Science

Research methods are to a political scientist what a hammer is to a carpenter (Hewitt 2001). It is the main instrument by which we perform our profession. In conventional curricula, the majority of courses seek to promote the transfer of knowledge from professor to student. The challenges in teaching research methods are therefore somewhat different than many other courses in the curriculum. To quote Hewitt: “While there are some carpenters who do excellent work without ever touching a hammer, most carpenters need adequate hammering skills in order to complete their work” (2001, 371). In other words, students need to develop the necessary skills to correctly apply research methods. This implies a different educational practice. The contributors to this special issue all seek to address the challenge of teaching research methods to political science students. This introduction aims to provide a concise framework for the various innovations presented throughout this issue, situating them in the wider literature. Particular emphasis is placed on the factors that distinguish the teaching of research methods from other subjects in the political science curriculum, that is, it revolves around the acquisition of a skill rather than knowledge. Over the last decade, a large body of literature emerged identifying the challenges associated with methods instruction that provides various tools to help overcoming such challenges (see, e.g., Kilburn, Nind, and Wiles 2014; Wagner, Garner, and Kawulich 2011). Our review is structured along three different dimensions of the teaching/ learning process: the role of the student, the role of the professor, and the context in which learning takes place. For each of these, we highlight a number of factors that can enable (or constrain) the effective learning of research methods.

Cultural Capital and Attitudes Toward Homosexuals: Exploring the Relation Between Lifestyles and Homonegativity

This article explores the potential of cultural capital as explanatory factor in understanding homonegativity. Building on recent findings suggesting the need for a cultural component in understanding homonegativity, this article explores the relation between lifestyles (the measurable expression of cultural capital) and homonegativity. Using the “Social-Cultural Changes in Flanders 2006” survey (a population-wide survey in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium), we observed that homonegativity is lowest in lifestyle clusters where cultural capital is higher. This effect, furthermore, is maintained even after controlling for other homonegativity correlates. These results suggest that cultural capital, expressed by lifestyles, is a valuable addition to the understanding of homonegativity.

Marrying European and Domestic Politics? The Marriage Referendum in Croatia and Value-Based Euroscepticism

Abstract On 1 December 2013, Croatia voted in a referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage. While recent scholarship has highlighted the symbolic nature of the referendum in domestic politics, its European dimension has not been considered. Using Leconte’s notion of value-based Euroscepticism, this article explores the role of European politics in the marriage referendum, using electoral data at the municipal level. The analysis demonstrates that the referendum, at least partly, was a proactive attempt to halt the Europeanisation of same-sex marriage. The article also sheds light on local resistance to EU homonationalist politics.

Introduction: EU Enlargement and LGBT Rights: Beyond Symbolism?

Over the last decade, the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people have become an ever more salient and controversial topic in international politics. LGBT rights are increasingly considered a litmus test for a country’s broader human rights record. As Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, so eloquently articulated:

Europeanization of attitudes towards homosexuality: exploring the role of education in the transnational diffusion of values

How does exposure to EU integration affect social attitudes in third countries, and what is the role of education in this process? These questions matter because the EU aspires to be not only a regulatory regime but also a community of values. Addressing both the common elision of attitudes and the underappreciation of education in Europeanization research, this article analyses the EU’s impact on attitudes towards homosexuality in third countries via national education systems. This article offers not only an exposition of how we can expand our theoretical framework to include the transmission of values; its empirical findings demonstrate the need for this exercise, as some of the literature’s underlying assumptions are shown to be unsupported.

The litmus test of pride: analysing the emergence of the Belgrade “Ghost” pride in the context of EU accession

ABSTRACT The transformation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights into a “standard for civilisation” has not been without consequences. With LGBT Pride parades becoming a symbol for Europeanness in the European Union (EU) accession process, this article asks how the litmus test character of Belgrade Pride has transformed LGBT politics in Serbia. Empirically, the analysis provides an in-depth analysis of how Serbia’s EU accession process has shaped the politics of Belgrade Pride between 2001 and 2015 and vice versa. It is argued that the international symbolic usage of Pride is no innocent practice as it has foreclosed its local politicality. Indeed, whilst Belgrade Pride became politicised as a litmus test in the EU accession process, domestically it developed into an apolitical ritualised event devoid of LGBT politics.