Page 274 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 274
What is the connection between various outcomes, i.e. civic knowledge,
attitudes, engagementst? Gril (2011) researched the connections between civ-
ic knowledge of Year 8 students and other elements of civic competencies.8
She discovered that civic knowledge of Year 8 students is formed in reciproc-
ity with students’ attitude towards democracy, how well they are informed,
recognise their own political effectiveness and experiences in school partic-
ipation. The author also pointed out that all three components of civic com-
petencies (knowledge, attitudes, engagements) were connected to the readi-
ness of youths to acquire the role of active citizens in the future (ibid.:182, 183).
Results for Slovenia
The links between various achievements and the assessment framework of the
ICCS study have already been expressed in the previous section. This part will
meanwhile focus on the connection between low cognitive test results by stu-
dents9 and their characteristics (socio-economic status (SES), their attitudes re-
garding various social and political issues and readiness for action). A second-
274 ary analysis was performed on the ICCS data.10
SES has today become a recognised factor that impacts student achieve-
ments in various diverse and complicated ways (Saha, 1997). A general accord-
ance does exist, i.e. that the SES represents income, education level and job
(Gottfried, 1985; Hauser, 1994; Schulz et al., 2010: 32).11 Data for Slovenia show
that students who failed to reach the first proficiency level in the ICCS study
have the lowest SES and vice versa – higher SES can be found in groups of stu-
dents who reach a higher level of civic knowledge.
The following paragraphs focus on the characteristics of students with low
achievements, organised according to sets as found in the ICCS study.
8 In her analysis Gril also used data obtained by the ICCS study, but focused on the link between
these items, while the current paper focuses on the characteristics of the lowest-achievement stu-
dents and differences between the various groups.
9 This paper deals with groups of students in relation to their (in)ability to reach civic knowledge pro-
ficiency levels.
10 The analysis is based on the level of achievements of Slovenian students, with the achievements
computed in accordance with the provided proficiency levels (failure to reach the first proficien-
cy level, reaching the first, second and third proficiency levels, respectively). The analysis used data
from the ICCS study – the questionnaire for Year 8 students and a publicly accessible analysis tool
(which includes all the required parameters, the correct weights etc.), i.e. IDB Analyser (available at
http://rms.iea-dpc.org/). It also checked the confidence intervals between individual groups.
11 For the purposes of the ICCS study, the SES has been calculated on the basis of the following var-
iables: Parents’ professional status, parents’ educational level and the number of books at home
(Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, 2011: 193).
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
attitudes, engagementst? Gril (2011) researched the connections between civ-
ic knowledge of Year 8 students and other elements of civic competencies.8
She discovered that civic knowledge of Year 8 students is formed in reciproc-
ity with students’ attitude towards democracy, how well they are informed,
recognise their own political effectiveness and experiences in school partic-
ipation. The author also pointed out that all three components of civic com-
petencies (knowledge, attitudes, engagements) were connected to the readi-
ness of youths to acquire the role of active citizens in the future (ibid.:182, 183).
Results for Slovenia
The links between various achievements and the assessment framework of the
ICCS study have already been expressed in the previous section. This part will
meanwhile focus on the connection between low cognitive test results by stu-
dents9 and their characteristics (socio-economic status (SES), their attitudes re-
garding various social and political issues and readiness for action). A second-
274 ary analysis was performed on the ICCS data.10
SES has today become a recognised factor that impacts student achieve-
ments in various diverse and complicated ways (Saha, 1997). A general accord-
ance does exist, i.e. that the SES represents income, education level and job
(Gottfried, 1985; Hauser, 1994; Schulz et al., 2010: 32).11 Data for Slovenia show
that students who failed to reach the first proficiency level in the ICCS study
have the lowest SES and vice versa – higher SES can be found in groups of stu-
dents who reach a higher level of civic knowledge.
The following paragraphs focus on the characteristics of students with low
achievements, organised according to sets as found in the ICCS study.
8 In her analysis Gril also used data obtained by the ICCS study, but focused on the link between
these items, while the current paper focuses on the characteristics of the lowest-achievement stu-
dents and differences between the various groups.
9 This paper deals with groups of students in relation to their (in)ability to reach civic knowledge pro-
ficiency levels.
10 The analysis is based on the level of achievements of Slovenian students, with the achievements
computed in accordance with the provided proficiency levels (failure to reach the first proficien-
cy level, reaching the first, second and third proficiency levels, respectively). The analysis used data
from the ICCS study – the questionnaire for Year 8 students and a publicly accessible analysis tool
(which includes all the required parameters, the correct weights etc.), i.e. IDB Analyser (available at
http://rms.iea-dpc.org/). It also checked the confidence intervals between individual groups.
11 For the purposes of the ICCS study, the SES has been calculated on the basis of the following var-
iables: Parents’ professional status, parents’ educational level and the number of books at home
(Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, 2011: 193).
student (under)achievement: perspectives, approaches, challenges
