The primary objective of this workshop is to explore how data from international assessments can be used for research regarding outcomes and contexts of civic and citizenship education, in particular related to teachers’ views and perceptions towards civic education at school. The workshop will put emphasis on how data from studies conducted by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) could provide further insights for policy and practice.

As a leading organization in the field of educational research for nearly 60 years, the IEA promotes capacity building and knowledge sharing to facilitate innovation and foster quality in education. IEA studies approach the reality of educational learning outcomes in all its complexity by collecting a huge variety of background information that can be related to students’ achievement, knowledge and attitudes.

This course will introduce participants to the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. The ICCS 2016 database was published in March 2018 and provides a rich source for secondary research of outcomes related to civic and citizenship education, in particular in Europe as a majority of participating countries was from this region. ICCS 2016 is IEA’s fourth study exclusively investigating civic education outcomes, following the first Civic Education Study in 1971, the Civic Education Study (CivEd) in 1999, and the first cycle of ICCS in 2009.

The course will include an overview of ICCS, covering its background, conceptual framework and design. It will present some key findings from the 2016 data collection, with a special focus on the analysis of the teacher survey. Participants will be introduced to the survey instruments and database, and be provided with access paths to data sources, technical documentation, analysis guides and software tools. There will also be a presentation about available variables such as teachers’ perceptions of the local community and school-level learning contexts, or variables regarding teachers’ personal and professional background.

With this information, participants will formulate and discuss research questions that can be addressed with ICCS 2016 data. The workshops specifically aims the analysis of data from the teacher survey, possibly in conjunction with data from other instruments. The instructors will be available to mentor the development of research ideas and design as well as to answer technical questions. Research questions from individual attendants will be presented to all participants in order to provide opportunities to share ideas.

No prior knowledge about large-scale international studies is required. Basic knowledge about statistical analysis is not required but is an advantage.

Draft Agenda:

Introductory session – 10 min

-- Introduction of participants and their research interests

-- IEA – mission, studies, topics, audiences

-- ILSA – study designs, technical standards, methodological challenges and solutions

ICCS – 20 min

-- Introduction

---- Background

---- Main research focus, framework

---- Design

-- ICCS 2016

---- Results, focusing on the teacher survey

---- Instruments, outcome variables and scales

---- Access and availability of data files, technical documentation, analysis guides and software tools

Group work – 35 min

-- Participants will form working groups

-- Each group will receive selected questionnaire materials and information on the corresponding variables (e.g., perceptions and background) of ICCS 2016

-- Participants will develop their own research questions that could be answered with the information collected in ICCS 2016

-- Each group presents one or two research questions and gets feedback from instructors and audience

Example Analysis – 20 min

-- Live demo of analysis of example research questions

-- Discussion of analysis and results

Summary & closing – 5 min

-- Questions, summary & conclusions

-- Invitation to advanced data analysis seminars and initiation of collaborative work

The course will begin with a brief overview of the studies conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), followed by a more detailed introduction to the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). The introductory presentation will include information on the history of the study, its conceptual underpinning and the study design. As ICCS 2016 is already the fourth IEA study exclusively assessing civic education outcomes, the (more recent) two studies preceding ICCS 2016, namely the Civic Education study in 1999 (CIVED) and ICCS 2009, will be presented as well. Next, there will be a summary of key results from ICCS 2016, with a particular focus on the teacher survey. Participants will get insight into the findings of the most recently published international comparative study in civic and citizenship education. In addition to presenting results of the 2016 survey, there will also be some information about changes in civic-related outcomes since 2009. Afterwards, there will be practice sessions that will cover most of the workshop time. Participants will be asked to think about research questions that could be answered using ICCS 2016 data. As an input for that task, participants will be provided links to the available survey material (student, teacher and school questionnaires). Further, information is given about variables and data derived from the questionnaire items, for example scale scores for latent variables, such as teachers’ perceptions of the school climate. Then, participants will work in groups to think about and discuss possible research questions that could be explored with ICCS 2016 data. During the group work, the workshop instructors will be available to answer questions and provide conceptual support to the groups. Each group will present their research question(s), and share and discuss these with all participants, to enable an exchange of thoughts and ideas within the group. Finally, by using (some of) the research questions developed by participants, the lecturers will conduct example analyses as a live demo. This will provide participants with first insights into methodological aspects of analyzing quantitative data from international large-scale assessments. Participants should bring a laptop. Lecturers will hand out USB sticks with published ICCS material (assessment framework, questionnaires) that can be used during the group work.

This workshop offers a unique opportunity for participants to learn about the concepts and results of ICCS 2016 as the most recent international large-scale assessment of civic and citizenship education. Participants will learn about the conceptual underpinning and design of the study as well as about the results and findings, particularly from the teacher survey. During the practice part of the workshop, participants will be able to develop a good understanding about how to address ICCS 2016 data with appropriate research questions. Finally, participants will get insights into appropriate ways of analyzing international large-scale assessment data.

Köhler, H., Weber, S., Brese, F., Schulz, W., Carstens, R. (2018). ICCS 2016 User Guide for the International Database. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IEA Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., & Agrusti, G. (2016). IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 Assessment Framework. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IEA Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., Agrusti, G., & Friedman, T. (2017). Becoming Citizens in a Changing World. International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 International Report. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IEA Schulz, W., Carstens, R., Losito, B., & Fraillon, J. (2018). ICCS 2016 Technical Report. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IEA