Student civic participation in school: What makes a difference in Ireland?

Abstract

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the views of the child to be given due weight in accordance with the child’s age and maturity. Legislation in Ireland recognizes the rights of children to have a voice in educational matters. Based on a sample of 2838 14-year-olds in Ireland and using questionnaire data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, this paper uses a multilevel model to examine the student and school characteristics associated with civic participation at school. Results indicate that boys have lower levels of civic participation at school than girls, but among boys only, civic participation at school varies in accordance with levels of perceived influence on decision making. Findings are discussed in the context of the rights of children to participate in decisions that affect them and with reference to Bandura’s social cognitive theory.