Maria Magdalena Isac

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.