Page 32 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 32
šolsko polje, letnik xxx, številka 5–6
of students were below level D, 10% of students were at level D, 21% were
at level C, 32% at level B and 35% at level A (Schulz, W. et al., 2018). Croa-
tian results are comparable to international ones (to the average of partic-
ipating countries) when looking at levels A and C and other levels differ.
Overall, Croatian students achieved the result over the ICCS average (the
national score was 531 points and ICCS 2016 average was 517) but when
results from only European countries are taken into account (European
ICCS 2016 average was 535 score points), this national result is quite close
to European average. There are no students with below level D knowledge
and on the level D there are (only) 4% of students. One fifth or 20% of stu-
dents are on the level C, while most of students (40%) acquired level B.
Almost the same ratio of students (36%) achieved the highest proficiency
or level A. Overall, three quarters of students in Croatia were on the lev-
el B or above, which is a very important variable in all further ICCS 2016
data analysis.
When looking at the collected background data from student ques-
tionnaires, Croatia stands out in several themes and some of them echo
the results from previously presented national studies conducted during
the last decade. One of those is student trust in institutions – national
and local government, national parliament, courts of justice, police and
political parties. For participating countries in ICCS 2016 these results
had two directions: in some countries, those with higher levels of civic
knowledge had the lowest levels of trust in civic institutions (Bulgaria,
Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Mexico,
Peru and the Russian Federation) and in others it was the opposite way
i.e. students with higher levels of civic knowledge had more trust in civ-
ic institutions (in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway,
Slovenia and Sweden). Parental levels of education followed the same pat-
tern, so in some countries it meant that students with at least one parent
with a university degree expressed slightly more trust in civic institutions
(in Flemish Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Nor-
way, and Sweden). The reverse pattern was evident in other countries, in-
cluding Croatia, where students with at least one parent with a degree had
lower average scores of institutional trust (Bulgaria, Dominican Republic,
Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Peru and the Russian Federation). Researchers
concluded that these two patterns may be rooted in the duration and type
of democracy in the two groups of countries (Schulz et al., 2018). Tak-
ing other sources into account this interpretation could be supplement-
ed with some other factors, outside the scope of the study that could be
of importance such as the economic profile of the country or the general
30
of students were below level D, 10% of students were at level D, 21% were
at level C, 32% at level B and 35% at level A (Schulz, W. et al., 2018). Croa-
tian results are comparable to international ones (to the average of partic-
ipating countries) when looking at levels A and C and other levels differ.
Overall, Croatian students achieved the result over the ICCS average (the
national score was 531 points and ICCS 2016 average was 517) but when
results from only European countries are taken into account (European
ICCS 2016 average was 535 score points), this national result is quite close
to European average. There are no students with below level D knowledge
and on the level D there are (only) 4% of students. One fifth or 20% of stu-
dents are on the level C, while most of students (40%) acquired level B.
Almost the same ratio of students (36%) achieved the highest proficiency
or level A. Overall, three quarters of students in Croatia were on the lev-
el B or above, which is a very important variable in all further ICCS 2016
data analysis.
When looking at the collected background data from student ques-
tionnaires, Croatia stands out in several themes and some of them echo
the results from previously presented national studies conducted during
the last decade. One of those is student trust in institutions – national
and local government, national parliament, courts of justice, police and
political parties. For participating countries in ICCS 2016 these results
had two directions: in some countries, those with higher levels of civic
knowledge had the lowest levels of trust in civic institutions (Bulgaria,
Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Mexico,
Peru and the Russian Federation) and in others it was the opposite way
i.e. students with higher levels of civic knowledge had more trust in civ-
ic institutions (in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway,
Slovenia and Sweden). Parental levels of education followed the same pat-
tern, so in some countries it meant that students with at least one parent
with a university degree expressed slightly more trust in civic institutions
(in Flemish Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Nor-
way, and Sweden). The reverse pattern was evident in other countries, in-
cluding Croatia, where students with at least one parent with a degree had
lower average scores of institutional trust (Bulgaria, Dominican Republic,
Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Peru and the Russian Federation). Researchers
concluded that these two patterns may be rooted in the duration and type
of democracy in the two groups of countries (Schulz et al., 2018). Tak-
ing other sources into account this interpretation could be supplement-
ed with some other factors, outside the scope of the study that could be
of importance such as the economic profile of the country or the general
30
