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##  Civic Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences of Ninth Graders in the             United States: Results from the IEA Civic Education Study. ERIC                 Digest.                                                                      

What do ninth graders in the United States know about democracy and             democratic principles?  What attitudes do they have toward civic                issues? What experiences have they had in democratic participation              and how engaged do they expect to be in the political arena as                  adults?  How do youth in the United States compare with their peers             in other nations on indicators of civic knowledge and engagement?               Those questions and others were addressed in the recent Civic                   Education (CivEd) study conducted under the auspices of the                     International Association for the Evaluation of Educational                     Achievement (IEA).  This Digest discusses the main findings of the              United States portion of the IEA CivEd study. THE IEA CIVIC                   EDUCATION STUDY.Twenty-eight countries participated in the                  large-scale international study, which was carried out in two                   phases.  In Phase 1, researchers developed case studies of civic                education in their particular countries (Torney-Purta and Others                1999).  The United States case study drew upon a variety of data                sources (Hahn 1999).  The researchers conducted a literature survey             and a textbook analysis.  Additionally, they surveyed the 50 states,            conducted focus groups with teachers and students, and interviewed              experts in civic education.  In addition to contributing to the case            studies, information from Phase 1 provided the basis for developing             instruments in Phase 2 of the study. 
Phase 2 tested nationally                representative samples of 14-year-old students on their civic                   knowledge (including both content and skills), concepts, attitudes,             and experiences.  The sample for Phase 2 in the United States                   consisted of 2,811 ninth graders from 124 nationally representative             public and private schools (Baldi and Others 2001). Questionnaires              were administered to American students in October 1999.  At the same            time, an administrator in each of the selected schools completed a              school questionnaire. KNOWLEDGE.The mean score of U.S.                    students on the knowledge test was significantly above the                      international mean (Baldi and Others 2001; Torney-Purta and Others              2001).  Additionally, the two sub-scales of the knowledge                       test--content and skills--were examined separately.  American                   students performed at the international mean on the content scale               and significantly better than students in all other countries tested            on the civic skills scale.  Skills include the abilities to                     distinguish fact from opinion, interpret political cartoons, and                comprehend political messages. 
In Phase 2, 70 percent of school               administrators reported that their school required a social studies             course in the ninth grade, but 30 percent did not (Baldi and Others             2001).  Moreover, only 55 percent reported that they required of                ninth graders five to six periods of a civics-related subject such              as civics, history, or social studies.  Sixty-five percent of                   students reported that they studied social studies in school almost             daily (presumably, in addition to taking required courses, some                 students were enrolled in electives).  Importantly, students who                reported studying social studies in school almost every day scored              higher on all three achievement scales (content and skills, as well             as overall knowledge) than students who studied social studies twice            a week or less (Baldi and Others 2001). 
Other factors associated              with students' performance on the knowledge aspect of the IEA CivEd             test included socioeconomic variables, race/ethnicity, and                      participation in extracurricular activities.  Students who performed            well on the civic knowledge test attended schools with a small                  percentage of students who were eligible for the free and reduced               lunch program, had parents who had completed comparatively more                 years of school, and had many home resources, such as books and a               daily newspaper (Baldi and Others 2001).  On the 1998 National                  Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) researchers also found                that socioeconomic factors were associated with civic                           achievement (Lutkus and Others 1999). 
In the IEA CivEd study no               gender differences were found for U.S. students on the knowledge                test as a whole or on the items measuring knowledge of civic                    content (Baldi and Others 2001); however, females significantly                 outperformed males on the measure of civic skills.  With respect to             race/ethnicity, white students scored higher than African American              and Hispanic students on overall knowledge and on both sub-scales.              Students born in the United States had higher civic knowledge scores            than students born outside the United States (Baldi and Others                  2001). Similarly, NAEP Civics reported no gender differences in                 civic knowledge and whites outperformed African American and                    Hispanic students (Lutkus and Others 1999). 
Many ninth graders who            participated in extracurricular activities earned higher civic                  knowledge scores than students who did not (Baldi and Others 2001).             Moreover, not only students who participated in student government,             but also those who participated in sports, arts programs, community             volunteer work, and religious organizations did better than students            who did not participate in those activities.  It is noteworthy that             the percentage of ninth-graders who reported that they participated             in voluntary activities to help the community--50--was identical to             the percentage reported in the NAEP Civics (Lutkus and Others 1999).            Moreover, it was higher than the percentage reported by students in             any of the other 27 countries participating in the CivEd                        study (Torney-Purta and Others 2001). ATTITUDES.The IEA CivEd             study assessed students' attitudes toward a number of civic issues.             Nine out of ten U.S. students supported women's political rights and            agreed that women should run for office and have the same rights as             men (Baldi and Others 2001).  This was substantially more supportive            than U.S. students had been in the previous IEA civic education                 study (Torney and Others 1975).  In the recent assessment, U.S.                 students along with students from only three other                              countries (Norway, Sweden, and Cyprus) were above the international             mean both in support of rights for women and of                                 immigrants (Torney-Purta and Others 2001).  Among the American                  students, students born outside the country were more supportive of             immigrants' rights than those born in the United States (Baldi and              Others 2001).  Additionally, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial ninth             graders reported more positive attitudes toward immigrants' rights              than did white students.  Female students tended to be more                     supportive of both women's rights and immigrants' rights than male              students.  There were no differences among students from different              socioeconomic backgrounds on the immigrants' rights scale.  Students            from higher socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds, however, were more                 supportive of women's rights than those from lower SES backgrounds.             Additionally, ninth graders were assessed for their attitudes toward            a number of government institutions, toward their country and its               symbols, and toward international relations. EXPERIENCES.Ninth            grade students reported participating in a variety of civic-related             activities, and they expected future participation as adults.  Close            to 60 percent of students said that they discuss national government            and politics with teachers and adult family members (Baldi and                  Others 2001).  Fewer reported discussing international politics; 52             percent said they have such discussions with teachers and 43 percent            said they have them with adult family members.  Only 18 percent                 reported they discuss international politics with people their own              age; 30 percent reported discussing national politics with                      peers. 
Almost 80 percent of the United States ninth graders                   reported that they obtain news from television (Baldi and Others                2001).  Fewer reported reading newspapers to obtain national                    news (62 percent). These percentages are lower than those reported              by students in most other countries (Torney-Purta and Others                    2001). 
One third of United States ninth graders reported that they            participated in a student council or student government and 20                  percent said that they worked on a school newspaper, two forms of               school-level civic participation.  As noted previously, half of the             students said that they had participated in a group conducting                  voluntary activities in the community.  Further, 40 percent said                that they had participated in a charity that collected money for a              social cause. 
Ninth graders in the United States expect to be                 actively engaged adult citizens.  Eighty-five percent said they                 expect to vote in national elections (Torney-Purta and Others                   2001).  Almost 30 percent said that they probably or certainly would            write letters to a newspaper about social or political issues.                  Eighteen percent expected to be a candidate for a local political               office (Baldi and Others 2001). CONCLUSION.The IEA study                  reveals that in civic education, American students are doing well               when compared to their peers in other countries.  For the most part,            ninth-grade students in the United States are becoming                          knowledgeable, caring, and engaged citizens of a democracy. 
The               picture, however, is not equally positive for all students. Students            from low-income families and communities and African American and               Hispanic students do not do as well on civic knowledge tests as                 their more affluent and white peers, a finding that is consistent               with much other research in the United States (Lutkus and Others                1999, 50-53). 
Copies of "What Democracy Means to Ninth-Graders:               U.S. Results From the International IEA Civic Education Study" can              be obtained from the U.S. Department of Education, ED Pubs, P.O. Box            1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398; toll-free 1-887-4ED-Pubs.  The report              is also available on the World Wide Web at                                      http://nces.ed.gov/surveys. REFERENCES AND ERIC RESOURCESThe              following list of resources includes references used to prepare this            Digest.  The items followed by an ED number are available in                    microfiche and/or paper copies from the ERIC Document Reproduction              Service (EDRS).  For information about prices, contact EDRS, 7420               Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, Virginia 22153-2852;                    telephone numbers are (703) 440-1400 and (800) 443-3742. Entries                followed by an EJ number, annotated monthly in CURRENT INDEX TO                 JOURNALS IN EDUCATION (CIJE), are not available through EDRS.                   However, they can be located in the journal section of most larger              libraries by using the bibliographic information provided, requested            through Interlibrary Loan, or ordered from commercial reprint                   services. 
Baldi, Stephane, and Others. WHAT DEMOCRACY MEANS TO                NINTH-GRADERS: U.S. RESULTS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIC EDUCATION              STUDY.  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Education, 2001. ED 454             152. 
Hahn, Carole L.  "Challenges to Civic Education in the United            States."  In Judith Torney-Purta, and Others eds., CIVIC EDUCATION              ACROSS COUNTRIES: TWENTY-FOUR NATIONAL CASE STUDIES FROM THE IEA                CIVIC EDUCATION PROJECT.  Amsterdam: The International Association              for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 1999, 583-607.  ED               431 705. 
Lutkus, Anthony D., and Others.  NAEP 1998 CIVICS REPORT             CARD FOR THE NATION.  Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education,             1999.  ED 435 583. 
Niemi, Richard, and Christopher Chapman.  "The             Civic Development of 9th through 12th Grade Students in the United              States: 1996."  EDUCATION STATISTICS QUARTERLY 1 (Spring 1999):                 39-41.  EJ 584 972. 
Torney, Judith, and Others.  CIVIC EDUCATION              IN TEN COUNTRIES.  New York: John Wiley, 1975.  ED 132                          059. 
Torney-Purta, Judith, and Others eds., CIVIC EDUCATION ACROSS            COUNTRIES: TWENTY-FOUR NATIONAL CASE STUDIES FROM THE IEA CIVIC                 EDUCATION PROJECT.  Amsterdam: The International Association for the            Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 1999.  ED 431                            705. 
Torney-Purta, Judith, and Others.  CITIZENSHIP AND EDUCATION             IN TWENTY-EIGHT COUNTRIES:  CIVIC KNOWLEDGE AND ENGAGEMENT AT AGE               FOURTEEN. Amsterdam: The International Association for the                      Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 2001. ED 452                             116. 
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This project has been funded at least in part with               Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under contract              number ED-99-CO-0016.  The content of this publication does not                 necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of             Education nor does mention of trade name, commercial products, or               organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.  ERIC                   Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and               disseminated. 
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Carole L. Hahn is Professor of Educational              Studies at Emory University, Atlanta.  She was the National Research            Coordinator for the United States portion of the IEA study reported             here.                                                                        **Title:** Civic Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences of Ninth Graders in the             United States: Results from the IEA Civic Education Study. ERIC                 Digest.                                                                      **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, 2805            East Tenth Street, Suite 120, Bloomington, IN 47408-2698. Tel:                  800-266-3815 (Toll Free); Fax: 812-855-0455; e-mail:                            [email protected]. For full text: http://ericso.indiana.edu.                **Descriptors:**  Citizenship Education, Civics,  Democracy,  Democratic Values,                 Grade 9, High Schools,  Political Attitudes, Social Studies,                     Student Attitudes, Student Evaluation, Student Surveys                      **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests,  International Assn Evaluation Educ Achievement                
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