Civic Knowledge Framework

Content domains described areas related to civic and citizenship education about which individuals may have developed knowledge and understanding.

The Civic Knowledge Framework was organized according to four content domains:

• Civic institutions and systems
  • Explanation: Focused on the formal and informal mechanisms and organizations that underpin the functioning of the societies.
  • Sub-domains:
    • State institutions
    • Economic systems
    • Civil society
• Civic principles
  • Explanation: Focused on the shared ethical foundations of civic societies, where support, protection, and promotion of these principles are regarded as civic responsibilities and as frequently occurring motivations for civic participation by individuals and groups.
  • Sub-domains:
    • Equity
    • Freedom
    • Rule of law
    • Sustainability
    • Solidarity
• Civic participation
  • Explanation: Referred to the manifestations of individuals’ actions in their communities that can operate at any level and context of civic community with levels of participation ranging from awareness to engagement through to influence.
  • Sub-domains:
    • Decision-making
    • Influencing
    • Community participation
• Civic roles and identities
  • Explanation: Referred to knowledge and understanding of the individual’s civic roles and identities and their perceptions of these roles and identities. Civic roles and identities include those that are related to concepts of nation, ethnic origin, and cultural heritage.
  • Sub-domains:
    • Citizens
    • Civic self-image
    • Civic connectedness

Cognitive domains described the distinct features of cognitive knowledge and distinguished remembering or recalling information or processing content in terms of understanding from applying an understanding to new situations.

• Knowing
  • Explanation: Referred to the learned civic and citizenship information that students use when engaging in the more complex cognitive tasks that help them make sense of their civic worlds.
  • Cognitive processes:
    • Defining
    • Describing
    • Illustrating with examples
• Reasoning and applying
  • Explanation: Referred to the ways in which students use civic and citizenship information to reach conclusions that are broader than the contents of any single concept and to make use of these in real-world contexts.
  • Cognitive processes:
    • Interpreting information
    • Relating
    • Justifying
    • Integrating
    • Generalizing
    • Evaluating
    • Suggesting solutions.
    • Predicting

Civic Attitudes and Engagement Framework

Affective-behavioral domains described the attitudes that students develop and their disposition to participate in the civic life of their societies. The civic attitudes and engagement framework was organized according to two affective-behavioral domains:

• Attitudes
  • Explanation: Referred to judgements or evaluations regarding ideas, persons, objects, events, situations, and/or relationships. They encompassed perceptions that are focused on specifics and can change over time, as well as those reflecting broader and more fundamental (or deeply rooted) beliefs (about values) that tend to be constant over longer periods of time.
  • Subareas:
    • Attitudes toward civic principles
      • International student questionnaire 
        • Students’ perceptions of threats to democracy
        • Students’ attitudes toward gender equality
        • Students’ attitudes toward equal rights for immigrants and non-immigrants
        • Students’ attitudes toward environmental sustainability
        • Students’ attitudes toward equal rights for all ethnic groups in society (optional)
      • European student questionnaires
        • Students’ perceptions of discrimination
        • Students’ attitudes towards freedom of movement for European citizens within Europe
      • Latin American student questionnaire 
        • Students’ perceptions of discrimination
        • Students’ attitudes toward corrupt practices
        • Students’ attitudes toward disobedience to the law
        • Students’ attitudes toward homosexuality
    • Attitudes toward civic issues and institutions
      • International student questionnaire
        • Students’ perceptions of student participation at their schools
        • Students’ attitudes toward the political system
        • Students’ acceptance of restrictions during a national emergency
        • Students’ trust in institutions
        • Students’ perceptions of threats to the world’s future
        • Students’ attitudes toward the influence of religion in society (optional)
      • European student questionnaires
        • Students’ expectations of the future of Europe
        • Students’ attitudes toward cooperation among European countries
        • Students’ attitudes toward the European Union
      • Latin American student questionnaire 
        • Students’ attitudes toward authoritarian government practices
    • Attitudes toward civic roles and identities
      • International student questionnaire
        • Perceptions of good citizenship behavior
      • European student questionnaires
        • Students’ sense of European identity
        • Students’ expectations of their own individual future
      • Latin American student questionnaires
        • Students’ expectations of their own individual future
• Engagement
  • Explanation: Referred to students’ self-beliefs about their interest and capacity to engage, expectations of future civic action, past and present engagement, and their preparedness to participate in forms of civic protest and anticipated future political participation as adults.
  • Subareas:
    • Experiences with engagement
      • International student questionnaire
        • Students’ engagement in organizations and groups (outside of school)
        • Students’ engagement in school activities
        • Students’ engagement using digital technologies
      • European student questionnaires
        • Students’ reports on behaviors related to political and ethical consumerism and on their sustainable behaviors
    • Dispositions toward engagement
      • International student questionnaire
        • Students’ interest in political and social issues
        • Students’ sense of citizenship self-efficacy
    • Expected future engagement
      • International student questionnaire
        • Expectations of participating in future school-based activities
        • Expectations to participate in legal and illegal forms of civic action in support of, or in protest against, important issues
        • Expectations of political participation as adults