Page 54 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 54
šolsko polje, letnik xxx, številka 5–6
Table 1. Questions on general knowledge about political participation
and concrete democratic participation in school class.
Tested learning Assignment/ Percentage of pupils
objective as defined question type with correct answer
by the syllabus (n=3849)
70
Q1 – Identify one rule In the analysis of situa- A record of the short
of democratic voting tions, pupils recognize answer 79
at the polling station as the norms and proce-
visible on the photo. dures of democratic
decision-making.
Q2 – Describe the pro- In the analysis of situa-
cedure how a class can tions, pupils recognize
reach a joint decision the norms and proce- A record of the short
about the destination dures of democratic answer
of their excursion. decision-making.
The results of the pupils with regard to these two questions show
that there is a slight discrepancy between general knowledge about dem-
ocratic participation rules and concrete participatory practices in an en-
vironment familiar to pupils (e.g. classroom). Seventy percent of pupils
correctly identified one of the rules behind democratic voting procedure
at a polling station, while 79 percent of pupils successfully described the
democratic procedure in the classroom. It may be true that the discrepan-
cy is not big; however, it is interesting that more pupils answered the sec-
ond question correctly which demanded not only knowledge but also the
ability to devise a clear and structured democratic process (higher taxo-
nomic level). What can be discerned from this is that pupils clearly recog-
nize general rules of democratic participation, while at the same time they
are clearly capable of finding participatory solution to joint issues in their
classroom environment.
The second cluster of questions tested pupils’ knowledge on politi-
cal participation at the local and national level within the Slovenian po-
litical system. This kind of knowledge is crucially important if a par-
ticular democratic state wishes to have well-informed citizens that take
political matters seriously and are prone to seize political decision-mak-
ing opportunities offered to them. As already common wisdom would
have it, it is an undeniable fact that education has a causal relationship
with multiple forms of engagement, including voter turnout, group
memberships, tolerance and the acquisition of political knowledge
(Campbell, 2009). Not least important, a particular state needs strong
democratic legitimacy in the form of citizens’ commitment to the par-
ticular principles characteristic to democratic decision-making. As Topf
writes, “elections are powerful symbols of the democratic legitimacy of
52
Table 1. Questions on general knowledge about political participation
and concrete democratic participation in school class.
Tested learning Assignment/ Percentage of pupils
objective as defined question type with correct answer
by the syllabus (n=3849)
70
Q1 – Identify one rule In the analysis of situa- A record of the short
of democratic voting tions, pupils recognize answer 79
at the polling station as the norms and proce-
visible on the photo. dures of democratic
decision-making.
Q2 – Describe the pro- In the analysis of situa-
cedure how a class can tions, pupils recognize
reach a joint decision the norms and proce- A record of the short
about the destination dures of democratic answer
of their excursion. decision-making.
The results of the pupils with regard to these two questions show
that there is a slight discrepancy between general knowledge about dem-
ocratic participation rules and concrete participatory practices in an en-
vironment familiar to pupils (e.g. classroom). Seventy percent of pupils
correctly identified one of the rules behind democratic voting procedure
at a polling station, while 79 percent of pupils successfully described the
democratic procedure in the classroom. It may be true that the discrepan-
cy is not big; however, it is interesting that more pupils answered the sec-
ond question correctly which demanded not only knowledge but also the
ability to devise a clear and structured democratic process (higher taxo-
nomic level). What can be discerned from this is that pupils clearly recog-
nize general rules of democratic participation, while at the same time they
are clearly capable of finding participatory solution to joint issues in their
classroom environment.
The second cluster of questions tested pupils’ knowledge on politi-
cal participation at the local and national level within the Slovenian po-
litical system. This kind of knowledge is crucially important if a par-
ticular democratic state wishes to have well-informed citizens that take
political matters seriously and are prone to seize political decision-mak-
ing opportunities offered to them. As already common wisdom would
have it, it is an undeniable fact that education has a causal relationship
with multiple forms of engagement, including voter turnout, group
memberships, tolerance and the acquisition of political knowledge
(Campbell, 2009). Not least important, a particular state needs strong
democratic legitimacy in the form of citizens’ commitment to the par-
ticular principles characteristic to democratic decision-making. As Topf
writes, “elections are powerful symbols of the democratic legitimacy of
52
