International results

Provision of civic and citizenship education

• Civic and citizenship education was implemented in different ways: as a separate subject, integrated into subjects related to human and social sciences, and/or through co-curricular activities.
• Important aims of civic and citizenship education as perceived by school principals and teachers included promoting critical and independent thinking, understanding citizens' rights and responsibilities, and respecting the environment.
• Teacher training varied, with many countries requiring mandatory pre-service and in-service training. However, relatively few teachers reported training on voting, elections, and political systems.

Students’ civic knowledge

• There were considerable differences in average civic knowledge across education systems participating in ICCS 2022, with even greater variation within countries.
• The median range between the lowest five percent and the highest 95 percent of student civic knowledge scores within countries spanned slightly less than four levels on the ICCS civic knowledge scale.
• On average, 15 percent of students across countries had quite low levels of civic knowledge that without the capacity of engaging with fundamental principles of democracy.
• The proportion of students achieving at Level B and above on the civic knowledge scale decreased from 70 percent to 64 percent, while the proportion of students achieving below Level D increased from nine percent to 13 percent.
• Six out of thirteen countries had statistically significant decreases in civic knowledge between 2016 and 2022. No country had a statistically significant increase.
• Female students consistently demonstrated higher civic knowledge than male students, with the difference equivalent to roughly one-third of a level on the ICCS scale.
• Higher socioeconomic status (SES), as measured by parental occupation, education, and number of books at home, was positively associated with higher civic knowledge.
• Students from immigrant backgrounds and those speaking a language other than the test language at home had lower civic knowledge scores.
• Multilevel regression analyses confirmed the consistent relationship of socioeconomic background with civic knowledge, both at the individual level and at the level of schools.

Students’ civic engagement

• Students’ interest in political and social issues remained relatively low, with fewer than a third of the respondents expressing high interest.
• Most students expressed confidence in engagement activities, such as arguing a point of view or organizing a group for school changes.
• Television remained the most common source of information, followed by the internet and newspapers.
• Discussions of social and political issues with parents and friends increased, showing a strong positive association with interest in civic issues.
• Digital media use for civic engagement was limited, with "liking" online posts being the most common activity.
• Participation in school civics-related activities was higher than engagement in community groups, but there were slight decreases since 2016.
• Majorities of students expected to engage in environmental protection activities in the future, but fewer expected to participate in illegal protest activities.
• Prospective electoral participation remained high, though there were declines since previous cycles.

Students’ attitudes toward important issues

• Students expressed support for democracy but were critical of their political systems. While nearly three-quarters agreed that democracy is the best form of government, only about half believed their political system works well.
• Students tended to recognize threats to democracy and identify critical situations like government attempts to control media or law-breaking by officials as detrimental to democratic processes.
• There were decreases in students’ trust in institutions like the national government, parliament, courts of justice, and police in many countries.
• Attitudes toward equal rights remained strong, with high levels of students’ support for gender equality and equal rights for immigrants and ethnic groups.
• Students with higher civic knowledge and from higher SES backgrounds were more concerned about global environmental threats and more supportive of environmental protection.

School contexts for civic and citizenship education

• There were high levels of student participation in democratic processes at school, however, there was also considerable variation across countries.
• Positive classroom climates for discussing civic issues were associated with higher levels of civic learning.
• Many students reported to have opportunities to collaborate with external groups in civic-related activities and learn about a wide range of civic issues, including how to verify online information.
• Teachers reported addressing diversity in their classrooms and valued it as an educational resource, and many indicated to have received training on diversity and inclusiveness.

Key findings related to contemporary focus areas

Sustainability

• Majorities of students viewed issues like pollution, water shortages, climate change, and loss of biodiversity as significant threats to the world’s future.
• Students with higher civic knowledge were more likely to support environmental protection and expect to take action in the future.
• Many education systems included environmental issues in the curriculum, and teachers felt prepared to teach about these topics.

Engagement through digital technologies

• Television remained the most common source of information about political and social issues, while fewer students reported higher levels of internet use for information or digital civic engagement.
• Positive associations were found between digital engagement, interest in civic issues, and expected active political participation.

Diversity

• There were high levels of support for gender equality and equal rights for immigrants and ethnic groups, particularly among female students and those with higher civic knowledge.
• Most school principals and teachers reported to actively address diversity and many teachers reported to have received training on teaching diverse classrooms and promoting tolerance.

Views of political systems

• Students expressed support for democracy but showed critical views of their political systems. However, satisfaction with political systems varied significantly across countries.
• There were high levels of recognition of threats to democracy among surveyed students.

Global citizenship

• Students rated globally oriented citizenship behaviors, such as supporting initiatives for global equality and environmental sustainability, as important for good citizenship.
• Higher civic knowledge was associated with greater endorsement of the importance of global citizenship behaviors.
• Education systems included global issues and interconnections in their curricula, and teachers reported to feel prepared to address these topics.

Implications for educational policy and practice

• There were no further increases in civic knowledge since 2016 and decreases in several countries, which were possibly related to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• There was significant variation in civic knowledge within and across countries, which suggests the need for more inclusive civic learning.
• ICCS 2022 results reaffirmed the importance of open classroom climates and opportunities for student engagement in schools.
• The findings suggest that an emphasis on civic knowledge and engagement in school environments has the potential of promoting active citizenship orientations in the future.
• ICCS 2022 data show that schools and teachers had developed initiatives to address diversity, use of digital technologies, and global citizenship issues.