Citizenship education under consideration. Relevant political competence (knowledge, attitudes and skills) of 14- and 16-year old pupils in Flemish secondary education (ICCS 2009 in Flanders)

The current research project aims to advance the knowledge, attitudes and skills regarding democratic citizenship of pupils aged fourteen and sixteen as well as the (school-related) factors by which these are influenced. Drawing on a representative survey of more than 150 schools in Flanders (Belgium), this project will not only describe and internationally compare the citizenship of Flemish grade 8 pupils, it will also give an evolution of democratic attitudes and (civic) engagement of Flemish youngsters of grade 10 compared to previous representative research in 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. In this way, we hope to fill the knowledge gap regarding political socialisation research on the one hand, and assess the specific impact of the cross-curricular theme 'education for democratic citizenship' and the participation decree on the other hand.