ERIC EJ1155573: Mock Elections in Civic Education: A Space for Critical Democratic Citizenship Development

2017·0.21 MB·English

by  ERIC

Journal of Social Science Education

Volume 16, Number 3, Fall 2017 DOI 10.2390/jsse-v16-i3-1584

Isolde De Groot

Mock Elections in Civic Education: A Space for Critical Democratic Citizenship Development

- This article shows that education related to mock elections varies widely within the Netherlands and internationally.
- It reveals that five elements of critical democratic citizenship development are commonly advanced in the Dutch
schools under study.
- It presents teacher rationales for fostering limited elements of CDC-literacy, competences and identity in ME-related
education.
- It shows how the limited emphasis on pursuing elements of CDC-development in ME-related education can be
understood in the larger educational context.
- It calls for further research into students’ political identity development processes during political simulations in
different political and educational contexts.

Purpose: Preparing citizens for participation in pluralist democracies also requires a type of citizenship education that
fosters critical democratic citizenship (CDC). This study inquires into an educational activity with a long history in many
EU-countries: mock elections. It explores the extent to which elements of CDC-literacy, competences and identity are
commonly fostered in education related to mock elections in the Netherlands, and teacher rationales in this regard.
Methodology: A qualitative study was conducted. Data from semi-structured interviews with teachers from eight
schools were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings and implications: Data analysis revealed an emphasis on offering a participatory experience. Five elements of
critical democratic citizenship were commonly advanced in mock election related education in these schools. Teacher
narratives also revealed how teachers had different understandings about political identity and their role in advancing
identity development. Findings suggest that there is ample opportunity to intensify attention to CDC-development in
education related to mock elections in Dutch schools. Further research into students’ political identity development
processes during political simulations in different political and educational contexts is required to further academic
debate about desirable support by teachers and governments in high-quality political education projects.

Keywords:
Political education, mock elections, political identity, critical pedagogy

1 Introduction This study focusses on ME-related education in one of
Citizens do not naturally develop a democratic attitude. these countries: the Netherlands. Mock elections were
Fostering citizens’ capacity to contribute to sustainable introduced in the Netherlands in 1963 to familiarize
democratic communities in a globalized and pluralist future voters with the concept of elections (Van Detl,
environment requires a certain type of citizenship edu- 1986). Since 1994, MEs are facilitated by the national
cation. A type of education that moves beyond the culti- institute for democracy (ProDemos), an NGO that
vation of basic political knowledge, participatory skills, receives governmental funding for organizing educa-
and that helps students to position themselves in the tional activities (e.g. school visits to the House of
political spectrum (e.g. Beane & Apple, 2007; Hess & Parliament) and public events on democracy. To promote
McAvoy, 2015; Nussbaum, 2010; Parker, 2003). In secon- and facilitate the MEs in schools, ProDemos offers a digi-
dary education, critical components of political literacy, tal platform where students from participating schools
skills and identity can be advanced with many types of can cast their votes at local, national and European
educational activities (e.g. role-plays, political advocacy elections as well as national referenda and (even) the US-
projects, political simulations). One such activity in civic elections. ProDemos also develops lesson materials and
education with a long history in many European coun- election newsletters that teachers in primary, secondary
tries is mock elections (MEs): the shadow elections that and vocational education can use, and it organizes a
schools can organize in conjunction with the official national media event where ME-results are presented.
elections. In Europe, ME-policies and practices vary wide- All materials, including a manual for holding the MEs in
ly amongst countries. In some countries (e.g. Norway), all school, are available on its website.
schools hold MEs for their upper-secondary students In the 2012 national elections, MEs were held in 436
(Ødegaard, 2016). In others (e.g. Germany, the schools. The majority of participating schools were high
Netherlands & the UK), participation of schools is schools. Overall, 117,650 of the 929,100 Dutch high-
optional. school students participated (ProDemos, 2012). Studies
of these -and prior- ME-results by researchers and
Isolde de Groot is an assistant professor at the
ProDemos have shown that, apart from the fact that
University of Humanistic Studies, Kromme
students more often vote for parties at the extremities of
Nieuwegracht 29, 3512 HD Utrecht, PO box 797
the political spectrum, student outcomes are a good
Office 31 30 2390140, Email: [email protected]

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predictor for the general election results (Van Detl, 1986; scholars have stressed that citizenship needs to be envi-

Nuus, Habben Jansen & Dekker, 2002). In the sioned as a process rather than an accomplishment, and
Netherlands, no prior studies have been conducted into that educators need to connect with the socio-political
the educational activities that are offered in conjunction developments and democratic learning experiences from
with the MEs, and the political literacy, skills and identity students’ everyday lives that impact their ability and wi-
development that teachers intend to foster in this llingness to participate in the civic and political domain
context. Also internationally, few scholars have examined (Biesta, 2011; Osler & Starkey, 2005). A learning object-
MEs and election simulations so far. Previous studies tive in civics that resonates with this pedagogical view
(published in English) typically evaluated particular poli- concerns the development of students’ capacities to
tical simulation programmes (Davies, Gray & Stephens, discern current cultural narratives on good citizenship
1998; Pappas & Peaden, 2004; Parker & Lo, 2016; and the good society (Levinson, 2012). Another objective
Shellman, 2001), or examined the extent to which MEs, concerns developing students’ capacity and willingness
election simulations and related activities are held in to contribute to the amelioration of current narratives on
schools (Haas & Laughlin, 2002; ICCS, 2009; Syvertsen, the good society and the viability of current democratic
Flanagan, & Stout, 2007). In the US, Kahne and Middaugh procedures and practices (De Groot, 2013; 2016).
(2008) additionally studied the opportunities of different
student populations to engage in MEs and related civic 2.2 Political development of citizens
education practices. As this study explores the extent to which participating
This qualitative study1 set out to explore the extent to teachers cultivate critical and elaborate elements of
which critical democratic citizenship (CDC hereafter) political citizenship development, this section presents
literacy, skills and identity development is fostered in key elements of critical and elaborate political citizenship
ME-related education in eight schools in the as identified by scholars who specialize in democratic
Netherlands, and teacher reasoning in this regard. By citizenship education (e.g. Beane & Apple, 2007;
gaining an insight into the current attention given to Beaumont 2010; Carretero, Haste & Bermudez, 2015; De
CDC-development in ME-related education in the Groot & Veugelers, 2015; Hess & McAvoy, 2015;
Netherlands, the study intends to stir academic debate Nussbaum, 2010; Parker, 2003; Veugelers, 2007;
about the CDC-developments that one can – and maybe Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Before presenting the key
should – foster in ME-related education. Findings will elements, some underlying notions are explained: What
also be used to reflect, together with educational pro- is meant by political in this study, the distinction bet-
fessionals in the Netherlands, on the ME education that ween critical, elaborate and basic political development,
they want to offer in conjunction with the upcoming and the main components of political development that
national elections, which are scheduled for March 2017. this study distinguishes.
The main question addressed was: What elements of The term political has multiple meanings in democratic
CDC-development did social studies teachers intend to citizenship education research. Sometimes, it refers pri-
foster with the ME-related education accompanying the marily to the domain in which development occurs (e.g.
2012 national elections? ME-related education, in this knowledge about formal political bodies). At other times,
study, is defined as a more or less distinctive educational the term points to a variety of contents, ranging from the
project that consists of the ME itself and the learning negotiation of different interests (De Winter, 2012) to
activities organized prior to students casting their votes the negotiation of power structures and images of the
(e.g. lessons that provide an understanding of the poli- good society in the civic and political domain (Biesta,
tical landscape) as well as afterwards (e.g. lessons in 2011; Hess & McAvoy, 2015). In line with CDC-research,
which students learn to analyze the ME-results). politics in this study is understood as the negotiation
between power and images of the good society and good
2 Theoretical framework government in the civic and political domain as well as in
To contextualize the study, this section first presents the people’s everyday lives at home and in schools. As a
underlying theoretical notions: learning objectives and consequence, the notion of critical political development
political development. It then sketches the socio-political in this study resembles the notion of critical democratic
context of the study and the organization of civic edu- citizenship development as defined in CDC-education
cation in the Netherlands. research (e.g. De Groot & Veugelers, 2015).
In education research on political or democratic citizen-
2.1 Learning objectives and the aims of civic education ship, scholars also commonly distinguish between en-
In educational research, setting clear and challenging gagement in institutional politics and participatory poli-
learning objectives is considered pivotal for meaningful tics: the political actions that people undertake in the
education (Hattie, 2009). The objectives that teachers civil domain to address practices and policies that do not
develop depend, amongst others, on their pedagogical align with democratic principles (e.g. Allen & Light,
views and their views on the aims of education. This 2015). As this study examines an educational practice
study builds on the work of critical pedagogues and edu- that is primarily designed to advance informed and
cation philosophers like Biesta (2011) who have argued conscious electoral participation, this study mainly builds
that civic education should aim at preparing students for on notions and distinctions as defined in research that
their role in the co-construction of future societies. These aims to advance critical political development in election
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processes. Future studies can complement the current and the good society is also emphasized (Haste &

(preliminary) framework for political electoral partici- Abrahams, 2008; De Groot, 2016). As political issues are
pation with insights from related fields (e.g. participatory defined in relation to a certain normative context, critical
politics, student voice and intercultural education). skills typically involve ethical and political reasoning and
To gain an insight into the political development that positioning skills.
teachers want to advance in ME related education, this
study discerns three main components of political deve- Critical political identity
lopment: political literacy, skills, and identity. Further- Inspired by John Dewey’s (1916) idea of democracy as a
more, key elements of critical and elaborate political way of life, citizenship education scholars have also
development are distinguished from basic elements of identified critical and additional elements of political
political literacy, skills and identity. In line with an identity. Elements that are more commonly examined in
understanding of democracy as a political system, and of this regard are a sense of political and/or civic efficacy
voting as the main political responsibility of citizens, (see e.g. Carretero Haste, & Bermudez 2015; Beaumont,
basic political literacy in this study is understood as one’s 2010), and a sense of politically engaged identity
knowledge about political procedures and practices. (Beaumont, Colby, Ehrlich, & Turny-Purta, 2006). In
One’s capacity to vote and participate in campaigning addition, scholars have argued that civic educators need
activities are examples of basic skills, and one’s party to support identification with multiple political commu-
affiliations and party ideology are perceived as basic nities (Nussbaum, 2010; Osler, 2005) and a sense of
components of political identity. These basic political de- political friendship (Allen, 2004; Hess & McAvoy, 2015): a
velopments are typically examined in international preparedness (and ability) to engage with strangers in
survey research on citizenship development (ICCS, 2009). our own communities and built trusting relationships.
Critical, on the other hand, refers to higher-order Allen has specifically pointed to the required commit-
thinking skills that enable engagement in complex, nor- ment of people and institutions to “slip loose of habits of
mative activities. Elaborate refers, for example, to skills domination and acquiescence” in this regard (Allen,
that are prerequisite to engaging in additional political 2004, p. 183).
activities that do not necessarily require critical thinking The 2009 ICCS study also examined civic identity,
skills (e.g. skills to develop campaign materials, or to defined as a combination of civic self-image and civic
organize a protest). connectedness (IEA, 2007, p. 18). Building on this notion
of civic identity, Biesta’s (2011) notion of learning demo-
Critical political literacy cracy and De Groot’s (2013) empirical research on Dutch
Critical and elaborate components of political literacy as adolescents’ democratic engagement, De Groot (2016)
stressed in citizenship education research typically in- also came to distinguish two additional elements of
clude an understanding of the interrelatedness of democratic citizenship identity: one’s narratives about
democracy and diversity (Parker, 2003; Hess & McAvoy, one’s democratic citizenship philosophy and one’s narra-
2015) and the interrelatedness of democracy and the tives about one’s democratic citizenship experiences.
addressing of social injustices (Carr, 2011; Osler & Cultivating these narratives, De Groot (2016) argued, can
Starkey, 2005; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). They include generate mental and emotional resilience amongst stu-
an understanding of the philosophy behind, and history dents against essentialist narratives on civic or political
of, political procedures and political parties, and they identity and the exploitation of identity towards violence
include the deeper knowledge about (inter)national civic which, for example, is a pressing and global issue
issues and democratic deficits that is needed to engage described eloquently by Amrita Sen (2006). As an
meaningfully in civic and political deliberation at the local overarching framework on political identity does not
and (inter)national level (Nussbaum, 2010; Parker, 2003). seem to exist, this study, for now, defines political
In this study, political literacy is understood as the identity as the conglomerate of the elements mentioned
conglomerate of the technical and ethical under- above. Furthermore, in line with dialogical and cultural
standings mentioned above. identity theories (Hermans & Hermans-Konopk, 2010;
Carretero, Haste & Bermudez, 2015), political identity is
Critical political skills understood as culturally embedded, multi-vocal and
With regard to fostering critical and additional political contingent: as continuously evolving through intra- and
skills, citizenship education scholars typically stress the interpersonal dialogues, and embedded in available
need to pursue students’ higher-order thinking skills narratives on cultural and political identity.
(Ruijs, 2012) and their ability to analyze political issues, Together, these CDC-elements provide the framework
social justice issues and democratic deficits (Jeliazkova, that was used to analyze discrepancies between teacher
Bernaerts, & Kesteren, 2012; De Groot, 2013; objectives and the CDC-elements that education scholars
Westheimer & Kahne, 2004; Veugelers, 2011). They also consider indispensable to preparing young citizens for
advocate fostering ‘skills of influence and action’ participation in pluralist democratic communities.
(Beaumont et al., 2006) like learning to engage in
political deliberations (Parker, 2003; Morrell, 2005). 2.3. Democracy and civic education in the Netherlands
Enhancing students’ ability to question -and develop- The Netherlands can be defined as a constitutional
personal and cultural narratives about good citizenship democracy, a democratic political system that is
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supported by a constitution that aims to protect the 2013; Nieuwelink, Dekker, Geijsel, & Ten Dam, 2015;

sovereignty of the people and several liberal rights that Veugelers, 2011).
are deemed key to democracy (Thomassen, 1991). Dutch
democracy can also be defined as a consensus de- 3 Research design
mocracy, because of its multiparty system and a political To gain an understanding of the extent to which CDC-
culture that aims to develop policies that also serve and development is commonly fostered in ME-related edu-
protect the interests of minorities (Spruyt & Lijphart, cation in the Netherlands, and teacher rationales in this
1991). Furthermore, it is known as a stable democracy. regard, a qualitative study was conducted. This type of
Academic discussions on democratic deficits in many research is particularly useful to gain insight into people’s
Western democracies have revealed that the adjective experiences and reasoning. To answer the main question
stable does not automatically coincide with the quality of ‘What elements of CDC-literacy, skills and identity did
the political system in a country, the strengths of its civil social studies teachers intend to foster with the ME-
society, the level of polarization in political and public related education accompanying the 2012 national
debate, and the democratic ethos of its citizens. Instead, elections?’, three sub-questions were developed:
it points to the time span for which a certain democratic
political system has been in place and the subsequent 1) Which CDC-elements did the teachers commonly
participatory dynamics (Haste, 2004). While the Dutch mention (in relation to ME-related education or in relation
democracy is relatively stable, political and cultural to the general curriculum)?
2) To which extent were CDC-elements specifically pursued
polarization in the Netherlands has increased in in the
in ME-related education?
last two decades (RMO, 2009; Ministerie van
3) Are there discrepancies between the CDC-elements as
Binnenlandse Zaken & Koninkrijksrelaties, 2008). This
discerned by CDC-scholars and the elements mentioned by
implies that many adolescents develop their identities in
the teachers?
a polarized context, and encounter essentialist narratives
on political and cultural identity on a day-to-day basis in The insights gained in this qualitative are used for the
school and on social media. development of a survey study in March 2017. This
In Dutch high schools, civic and political engagement is follow-up study, which aims to gain insight into the
mainly fostered in social studies classes and in school intentions and rationales of all teachers in Secondary
projects. Study of Society (Maatschappijleer), a one year education in the Netherlands who organize ME in their
subject in upper secondary education, was introduced in schools in conjunction with the national elections of
1962 in order to complement the existing social studies 2017, also examines how intentions and rationales relate
curriculum (history and geography) with a focus on to different school, student and teacher characteristics.
participation in social and political life. In 2006 the Dutch
government introduced a law that obliges schools in Selection and recruitment of teacher participants
primary, secondary and vocational education to foster The teachers were recruited using the ProDemos data-
the active participation and social integration of young base, which contains all 433 persons coordinating the
citizens. In line with the Dutch freedom of education 2012 ME in their schools. In order to generate rich data,
legislation, schools are free to decide how and within several criteria were set: teachers had to have over four
which subjects they stimulate the civic and democratic years of teaching experience in civics and an interest in
literacy, skills and identity of students. In practice, the the topic at stake, teachers also needed to be working in
2006 legislation on civic education has led to an increase different areas of the Netherlands. 47 teachers who
in explicit attention to (world) citizenship in mission matched these criteria were approached. Eight teachers
statements (Peschar, Hooghof, Dijkstra, & Ten Dam, from four different provinces agreed to participate. Nine
2010). Although (advanced) subjects in social studies teachers actively declined the invitation, and thirty did
currently prioritize (assessable) academic content and not respond. Reasons for declining ranged from ‘no time’
approaches, and are wary of prescriptive approaches to the idea that they did not have much to say since their
(Wilschut, Hoek & Landelijk Expertisecentrum Mens- en school had not organized complimentary educational
Maatschappijvakken, 2012), the legislation on citizenship activities in conjunction with the 2012 ME.
education did lead to increased attention to participatory The study thus examined the CDC-developments that
experiences, civil service trajectories, political deli- teachers in eight different schools pursued with ME-
beration, debating and dialogical learning activities in related education. Of the participating teachers, one was
educational practice and policy. In some schools, the a primary school teacher, teaching grades two to seven.
2006 legislation also led to expansion of the civics The other seven were high school teachers, all teaching
curriculum (i.e. additional projects or subjects). Findings Study of Society, a subject often offered two hours a
from recent studies on citizenship development and week in the pre-exam year. These teachers particularly
education in the Netherlands, however, indicate that spoke about the learning objectives formulated for their
students in lower levels of secondary education still have students in the five-year Higher General Secondary
limited opportunities to engage in participatory activities Education track (havo) and/or the six-year Pre-university
in school when compared to other countries in Europe Education track (vwo). Most of the participating schools
(Kerr, Sturman, Schulz, Burge & ICCS, 2010), and that only offered the regular one year of classes in the subject
attention to civic identity in schools is limited (De Groot, Study of Society in upper secondary education. Because
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elections do not take place annually, ME-related edu- the ME for the first time in 2012. To prepare students,

cation is not embedded in the general Study of Society teachers (in history/social studies) at all levels spent one
curriculum in Dutch schools. Also, the magnitude of the lesson on this issue: in this lesson, students were
ME-project that teachers organized varied. Among the informed about the elections, the voting process and the
participating teachers, two organized MEs for the whole political parties. Through assignments, students received
school, two organized MEs only for students attending help selecting a party that matches their personal int-
the one year obligatory Study of Society classes, and the erests. During one school day, students from 2 classes per
others participated with students from multiple levels. hour were directed to the ‘polling station’ in the school to
Some teachers hardly organized any ME-related edu- cast their vote (administrators developed a schedule and
cational activities, apart from classroom conversations arranged the ICT-facilities). This process was guided by
about the (upcoming) elections; others organized several students (who handed out codes they could use to
activities for all students and/or for specific student cast 1 vote) and a former intern. Afterwards, the results
groups. were discussed in the Social Studies classes. A brief report
about the results and how they relate to the results of the
Research instruments and data collection national elections was published in the school’s news-
To collect teacher narratives on the CDC-developments letter (in 2012, the electronic learning environment did
that they pursue, a semi-structured interview design was not yet serve as the main communication channel).
chosen. Information about teacher objectives was
elicited with the following interview questions: What did In school B there are two teachers who teach Study of
you (and your colleagues) hope that students would take Society in general and pre-university education (3 hour
home from the ME-related educational activities? Did subject during 1 year). Both organize the ME (in con-
you intend to foster political literacy, skills, and identity junction with each election) for students from their own
with these activities, and if so, could you elaborate on classes. To prepare students, the participating teacher
this? Interviews lasted between 40 minutes and 1.5 walked students through the voter application and
hours, and were conducted between December 2015 discussed different interpretations of some of the ques-
and March 2016. Teachers thus had to rely on their tions asked. Students casted their vote throughout the
recollection of the educational activities offered during lesson, one at a time, on a computer in front of the class.
the national elections in 2012 (and the local and EU- During the event, the teacher pointed students to the
elections in 2014), and archived documentation. To rules of the game (e.g. discussion is not allowed at that
stimulate the recollection process, the interview guide- very moment and place; you have the right to ask a
lines were sent in advance, and teachers were invited to person whom he/she votes for, but one does not have to
email relevant lesson materials and documents. As not all respond truthfully). In the next lesson, the teacher asked
teachers organize education activities in conjunction with students to comment on the election results. He also
the elections, and because of the small sample size, I briefly discussed the results in terms of (un)likely out-
decided not to conduct a separate analysis of the comes of the formation process. In 2012, a brief report
teaching materials. When available, the materials were about the school results and how they relate to the
used to examine the reliability of the data provided in results of the national elections was published in the
the interviews. school newsletter.

Analysis After the preliminary categorization of the transcribed
To gain an understanding of the educational contexts in interviews in relation to each research question with the
which the teachers advance certain components of CDC- help of software for qualitative analysis (Atlas-ti), a
development, I first developed vignettes that envision thematic analysis was conducted per question (Joffe,
per school: a) how ME’s are organized and b) what type 2012). To answer the first research question, segments
of education activities are organized in conjunction with that contained information about teacher objectives
the elections. To illustrate the different education con- were first attributed to one of the three main categories:
texts included in the sample, I here present two of the CDC-literacy/skills/identity. Each interview segment was
vignettes (School A and School B). These vignettes were then re-examined in order to discern subcategories per
selected because they envision how the organisation of category, and the segments were reread to list which
ME and related education activities vary among schools subcategory of objectives each teacher fostered. In the
in the research sample with a similar student population, tables presented in the results section, an x indicates
in terms of size (approximately 2100 students) and that teachers mentioned this objective explicitly as an
cultural background (mostly non-migrant students). objective, X indicates that teachers explicitly defined an
objective as most prominent in their own teaching, /
In school A the decision to organize the ME is made in, signifies that there was some attention to this type of
and supported by, a teacher section with 19 teachers who development, but it was not explicitly defined as an
teach various related subjects, e.g. History and the Study objective, and finally, C signifies that the objective was
of Society (2 hour subject during 1 year). Several teachers explicitly mentioned, but (primarily) advanced elsewhere
coordinate the ME (in conjunction with the national and in the civics curriculum. An empty spot indicates that a
regional elections). The participating teacher organized particular element was not pursued by a certain teacher.
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CDC-objectives were qualified as common when they related education. The first concerns fostering students’

were clearly defined as an objective by four teachers or knowledge about the politics behind party programmes.
more. The second question was answered by examining This objective also included promoting student know-
the extent to which elements were advanced pre- ledge about how party agendas – and voting behaviour –
dominantly in ME-related education. Question three was can vary pre and post elections. As one of the teachers
answered by identifying the objectives that were not explained:
commonly mentioned by teachers as well as objectives
that added to the elements as defined in the literature. “In my classes with pre-university students I explain more
about things that one needs to understand to develop a ba-
4 Results lanced opinion about party agendas and actions. I, for
This section first presents the study’s findings with instance, point to discrepancies between the official party
regard to an overarching value that was repeatedly agendas on a certain issue and the way (coalition) parties
emphasized by the teachers, the value of introducing stu- have voted on this issue and possible explanations. That
coalition parties, for example, have other interests to take
dents to political practice. It then describes which CDC-
into account when voting than parties in the opposition.
elements were commonly mentioned by the teachers,

the extent to which these elements were specifically
The second objective concerns fostering students’
fostered in ME-related education, and teacher rationales
understanding the interrelatedness politics and quality of
for (not) emphasizing certain elements. To conclude, it
own life. With regard to this objective, one of the
lists the main discrepancies between those CDC-
teachers explained:
elements mentioned by the teachers and those dis-

cerned in CDC-literature.
“I want them to be able to look beyond appearance and

me-dia skills of politicians. I want them to understand the
4.1 Focus on engagement in political practice
bigger picture behind the things that politicians say, and
Data analysis revealed how, apart from fostering (critical)
how this picture relates to them. This is still rather abstract
literacy, skills and identity development in ME-related
of course. To make it concrete, I ask students to imagine
educational activities, teachers particularly highlighted
themselves as a shop owner, a Muslim, or a person who has
the value of introducing students to political practice. recently been through a divorce, and think about the
They commonly explained, for example, that parti- implications of a certain policy for their lives.
cipation in the MEs enables students to become aware of
their (future) political rights, to get a taste of what it feels Next to fostering students’ awareness of the impact of
like to decide with which party they identify most, to cast certain policies on the everyday lives of different social
their vote, and to learn about the results: “It does not and cultural groups, teachers also talked about advan-
really matter if twelve year olds have an understanding cing their students’ imagination with regard to how the
of politics or not […] I just think it is important that they quality of the roads and the presence of community
are confronted with the fact that it will only take a facilities in their neighbourhoods are impacted by deci-
couple of years before they will start casting their votes”. sions made in local and (inter)national politics: “I want
Teachers also commonly appreciated the opportunity them to realize that politics is also about your neigh-
that the ME, and its related learning activities, offers to bourhood, about where you live […]. That the govern-
arouse students’ interest in what happens outside their ment has a say in many of the things you encounter
personal lives and to recapitulate basic (and advanced) during the day”.
knowledge about political institutions and procedures. Three other objectives were also commonly men-
Some of the teachers did not pursue any specific tioned, but were predominantly advanced in the general
political developments with the ME-related education civics curriculum. The first of these objectives concerns
that they offered. As one teacher said: “There is no furthering students’ understanding of the philosophy
masterplan behind it”. Teachers also regularly referred to behind, and history of, political procedures and parties,
the objectives of the general Study of Society and/or in line with Parker’s (2003) work on democratic
Social Sciences curriculum: “When thinking about our enlightenment and democratic education. As one of the
learning objectives in ME-related education, I think about teachers explained:
the overall objectives for this subject: developing the
students’ opinions [about political and civic issues], “Civic and political events just happen, but political theory
argumentation skills and listening skills”. The following doesn’t change overnight. So, for my pre-university
sections reveal the extent to which CDC-developments students, my aim is to achieve a robust understanding of
were particularly advanced in ME-related education. political theory. This way they are capable of interpreting
what they observe, what is happening, and why it is
4.2 Critical political literacy happening.

With regard to the development of critical political
The second objective resembles Carr’s (2011) work on
literacy, two objectives that transcend basic literacy
critical media literacy and social justice education and
objectives (i.e. knowledge about the political system and
concerns advancing students’ understanding of the use
knowledge about the agendas of the main political
parties) were commonly pursued by the teachers in ME-
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and impact of spinning and framing by political parties 4.3 Critical political skills

and stakeholders in the media. With regard to critical – and elaborate – political com-
petences, two objectives were more commonly pursued
Table 1: Elements of critical political literacy in ME-related education. The first concerns cultivating
students’ ability to analyze political and civic events, with
Critical political T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8
the help of their knowledge about the (rationale behind)
literacy
Knowledge about x* xC xC x x x checks and balances that are built into the democratic
politics behind system, and their knowledge about democratic proce-
party
dures like the formation process and the interests of
programmes
various stakeholders. One teacher, for example, ex-
Understanding x x xC /C x x X x
the plained how, with her pre-university students in the
interrelatedness higher grades, she used the elections to explain about
of politics and the formation process, the issues at stake, and the
quality of
interests involved: “I want them to realize that people’s
personal life
Understanding /C / /C xC XC / /C X actions are always linked to certain interests. Students
philosophy do not like this idea, but I want them to be conscious
behind, and about it”. Another teacher explained how she wanted
history of,
her pre-university students to understand the value of
political
procedures and political immunity for ambassadors, like how this means
parties that ambassadors can even get away with not paying
Understanding of x xC /C xC x x their parking tickets.
the use and
The teachers also commonly fostered two elements
impact of
spinning and that are related to the ability to analyze political and civic
framing by events. These concern fostering students’ abilities to
political parties critically read and evaluate the questions and outcomes
and stakeholders
of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) and to critically
in the media
examine the viability of political stances as presented by
Understanding x /C xC /C xC x
background & politicians. The following segment illustrates how one of
complexity of the teachers fostered both skills simultaneously:
civic/political

issues and
knowledge about “I cannot assist students individually in developing an in-
multiple formed understanding of their position in the party spec-
perspectives trum. So what I do is I walk through the Voting Advice
*x = explicitly mentioned as an objective; X = defined as key objective; /
Application in class. During this process, I discuss their un-
= some attention, but not explicitly defined as objective; C = fostered
derstanding of the different items. Afterwards, I point to
primarily elsewhere in the civics curriculum
certain elements that explain some typical outcomes, and

limitations. How students have a tendency to opt for
Fostering students’ understanding of the background
expensive rather than realistic solutions, for example.
and complexity of civic and political issues, and their

insight into multiple perspectives is the third common
‘Co-organizing the MEs was the second objective that
objective that was predominantly pursued in the general
was more commonly pursued in ME-related education.
civics curriculum, an objective that resembles the idea
The level of student participation in the organization of
that students should be introduced to multiple pers-
MEs varied though. Several teachers invited students or
pectives on a civic issue (Parker, 2003; Lange, 2008).
the student council to become co- or main organizers.
Teachers’ main explanation for primarily attending to
Others gave students a facilitating role, e.g. monitoring
certain critical literacy objectives elsewhere in the civics
the voting process in the school. In the schools that
curriculum related to the isolated character of the ME-
organized MEs at the classroom level, students had no
project. Teachers, for instance, explained how they cover
role in their organization and facilitation.
the philosophy behind, and history of, political proce-
Two other objectives were also commonly mentioned,
dures and parties in another semester, and how they use
but predominantly pursued in the general curriculum.
the ME to animate this knowledge. This might also
The first of these objectives concerns learning to voice
explain why only two critical literacy objectives were, by
one’s opinion in a respectful manner in class, and to
several teachers, referred to as key objectives. Other
provide arguments for one’s opinion, an objective that
teachers explained that they put limited emphasis on
has been emphasized by Parker’s (2003) work on
advancing critical literacy altogether, because of the
classroom deliberation. For example, when asked what
student levels that they taught and students’ low level of
skills teachers intended to foster, they explained: “I hope
political interest and literacy in primary/general secon-
that students will learn how to engage in critical thinking,
dary education.
how to voice their opinion, and present their opinion

before an audience”, and, “Students know this from the

first grade: that they are never allowed to just say ‘I like

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this’, or I think this is stupid’. If they do so I always probe Analysis also revealed how attention to CDC-skills

them to continue by saying ‘because???’”. Several tea- varied widely among the teachers. Four objectives were
chers also explicitly talked about addressing students’ mentioned as key to their teaching by several teachers.
abilities to deal with anger and frustration in The empty spots in table 2 on the other hand also show
conversations and public deliberations in a responsible that some of the teachers gave very little attention to
manner. advancing CDC-skills in ME-related education. Only one
teacher, for example, explicitly aimed to advance lis-
Table 2: Elements of critical and elaborate political skills tening and debating skills in her lessons prior to the ME
(see table 2). A common teacher explanation for putting
Political/democra T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 limited emphasis on cultivating critical and elaborate
tic skills political skills was that political simulations, debates and
(Critical) analysis x XC xC X x X X
the like are organized elsewhere in the curriculum. Other
of events
explanations concerned the limited scope of the project,
- Critical x xC / x
evaluation of lack of facilities to organize the project, and a focus on
VAA-questions the participatory experience.
and outcomes

- Ability to x x xC x x x
4.4. Critical political identity
question ‘facts’
and stances of Analysis revealed one critical political identity objective
politicians commonly mentioned in ME-related education: advance-
Co-organize ME / x x x / X
ing an embodied value of political rights. Here, teachers
Develop & voice x x xC xC x /C X X
repeatedly stated how, using video and role play, they
one’s opinion in C C
respectful manner introduced students to political rights and political
in class and public identities of people in countries with other regimes:
deliberations, and
provide
arguments “I always stress the value of having the option to cast our
- Listen to each X XC X xC votes, to have that right. And how important that is. We
other C watch movies about countries with other regimes and
- Critical reflec- XC X xC /C /C /C X xC discuss the impact of these regimes on people’s lives. We
tion about C also do one of ProDemos’ simulation games, in which
judgments/
several countries deliberate about homo-emancipation and
preferences
the like. This way, students gain an understanding about
prejudices
the decisions that these governments would make, and
Design and xC /C /C xC
analyze campaign what it means to not have the opportunity to speak up.
materials
Two other policy identity objectives were also
Teachers commonly mentioned two elements that are commonly mentioned, but predominantly attended to in
related to the objective of learning to voice one’s opi- the general curriculum instead of specifically in ME-
nion. The first also relates to Parker’s work on classroom related education. The first objective concerns fostering
deliberation and concerns fostering an ability to listen to a sense of identification with local and (inter)national
each other. From the teachers who explicitly mentioned political communities, a component of citizenship de-
this objective, several also presented it as a key object- velopment that many scholars have addressed (e.g. Hess
tive, and considered this skill quintessential for creating a & McAvoy, 2015; Osler & Starkey, 2005). As one of the
space where everyone can share their fears about civic teachers explained:
and political events. The second element resides with De
Groot’s (2013) work on key dimensions of democratic “Political identity is about being part of a political system
citizenship and concerns fostering critical reflection
and about locating themselves on the political spectrum.
about personal judgments, preferences, and prejudices. The first is complicated already. The idea that we are a
With regard to fostering critical reflection, some of the household of 16 million people… it is all rather abstract to
teachers specifically mentioned thematizing scepticism them. But I do try to help them understand: 1) you are part
with regard to the use of casting one’s vote, a theme that of a community. Whether they position themselves on the
left or right of the political spectrum I leave to them. That
Beaumont (2010) has written about more extensively in
said, I do want students to understand that it is important
her work on fostering political efficacy in US schools. This
to cast one’s vote.
objective was not commonly mentioned though.

The second objective that was more commonly
Teachers commonly mentioned two other related
mentioned but primarily pursued in the general civics
elements in the context of this particular objective: the
curriculum concerns designing and analyzing campaign
first resides with Hess and McAvoy (2015)’s work on the
materials. This elaborate participatory skill was typically
political classroom: positioning oneself in relation to
fostered in the context of a political school debate or in
mental frames about the good society. The second
the context of a simulation project in which students
concerns development of a sense of commitment to
make up their own political parties.
broader range of civic issues. In order to connect her
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students to a range of civic issues, the primary school and/or one’s political ideology. Others also talked about

teacher that was interviewed, for example, not only additional components like one’s identification with the
discussed party stances on issues that were popular (inter)national political community, and the extent to
among students (like animal rights), but also on issues which one feels politically engaged.
that her students often have not yet thought about (like A second explanation relates to the teachers’ peda-
the quality and accessibility of education for different gogical views. The teachers often defined their task as
student groups). supporting students’ political orientation process with
relevant knowledge, i.e. knowledge about political pro-
Table 3: Elements of critical/elaborate political identity cesses and bodies, party programmes, and inconsisten-
cies between certain combinations of stances of a certain
Political/democratic T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 party, or the financial implications. This task resembles
identity more basic political identity development objectives like
Embodied value of X x / / xC / X X
fostering students’ orientation in the party landscape. A
political rights (vs
political rights/identity type of objective that requires a “neutral” stance of
in systems that do not teachers. In line with this neutral or coaching role,
function/lack checks teachers seemed to be inclined not to directly thematize
and balances)
identity development in their lessons.
Identification with local / / / /C xC x xC x
A third explanation relates to teachers’ views about the
and (inter)national
political communities impact that they can have on their students’ identity
- Positioning in relation / /C X x x development. As one teacher explained: “Fostering stu-
to mental frames
dents’ identity development is important I think, but it is
about the good society
not something I explicitly cultivate. The lessons that I give
- Sense of commit- x x xC /C x / xC /C
ment to broader can impact students’ political identity, but I do not have
range of civic issues the illusion that my teachings will foster the deve-
Sense of political x XC /C xC XC lopment of personal political identities in students”.
efficacy

- Inclination to en- / /C xC xC xC xC X
gage in political 4.5. Implicit and additional CDC-objectives
discussions and Analysis revealed that several elements mentioned in
deliberations CDC-literature were not (or not explicitly) fostered by the
Political friendship /C /C /C /C /C /C /C /C
teachers in ME-related education. In addition the
and/or valuing fairness
teachers also mentioned elements that receive little
and tolerance
attention in the literature. These elements primarily con-
The second objective that was commonly attended to cerned political identity. In the ME context for example,
in the general civics curriculum instead of specifically in the teachers did not explicitly aim to enhance political
ME-related education concerns fostering a sense of friendship or fairness and tolerance amongst students
political efficacy, a sense that one can participate in the (Allen, 2004; Hess and McAvoy’s, 2015) in this context.
political realm and have an impact, as defined in the Teacher narratives, however, also suggest that an active
work of scholars like Beaumont (2010) and De Groot, appreciation of the multiplicity of voices in the political
Goodson & Veugelers (2014). As one teacher explained: landscape was promoted elsewhere in the programme
“The main thing that I want students to take home from (e.g. when preparing for political debate) and indirectly,
the MEs and the other participatory experiences that I by advancing students’ political literacy and deliberative
organize is that they feel they can have an impact. That skills. Teachers also did not talk about cultivating stu-
once you have faith, and you put an effort into it, you can dents’ narratives about their democratic citizenship
change things that you dislike”. In this regard, the experiences (De Groot, 2015). This suggests, for example,
teachers who organized activities where students could that the teachers provided limited space for students to
meet (youth) politicians also commonly stated that they develop and question their personal narratives about the
aimed to foster students’ inclination to engage in impact that participation in these elections might have
political discussions and deliberations. (had) on their political skills, and their sense of efficacy
Analysis of the pursued critical and elaborate political towards negotiating the multiplicity of voices in the
identity development objectives also revealed how ele- Dutch multiparty system.
ments of identity were more often mentioned indirectly, On the other hand, teachers also mentioned three CDC-
when compared to elements of political literacy and identity elements that -to my knowledge- have received
skills. Simultaneously, it showed that all three common limited attention in civic education research so far. The
objectives were defined as key by several teachers. first element was pursued by some of the teachers who
A possible explanation for attending to a limited organized political events in the general curriculum, and
number of elements of CDC-identity in the ME-context concerns fostering “a sense that politicians are just like
can be found in the different conceptualizations of us”: a sense that politicians are approachable and that
political identity that underlie the teachers’ views. Some not all politicians have excellent communication and
teachers, for example, defined political identity as one’s debating skills. The second was mentioned once, and
understanding of one’s position in the political landscape concerns localising oneself politically within multiple
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communities, i.e. the school population, or various elements as discerned in citizenship education research

religious and political communities: was found in relation to CDC-identity development. In
ME-related education only one element of political
“I think for instance that, for those adolescents who do not identity was commonly advanced. Some other CDC-
want to vote because of their faith, it is quite a thing. identity elements were fostered implicitly, e.g. a sense of
Negotiating the demands from the different communities political friendship (Allen, 2004; Hess & McAvoy, 2015).
that they belong to is also part of their identity develop- Others were mentioned occasionally, or not at all, e.g.
ment I think. thematizing scepticism with regard to the use of casting
one’s vote (Beaumont, 2010) and narratives about one’s
This objective can be tailored to notions such as “civic democratic citizenship experiences (De Groot &
self-image” (IEA, 2007), “a sense of (political) belonging” Veugelers, 2015). This suggests, amongst other things,
(Putnam, 2000) and the notion of “political friendship” that the teachers hardly guided the co-construction of
(Allen, 2004). The third was visible in one teacher’s hope students’ narratives about how, for example, the 2012
to provide students with “a sense of pride about their ME experience influenced their sense of efficacy towards
own political literacy/maturity”. Although not defined in negotiating party programmes in the Dutch multiparty
the literature as such, this notion can also be tailored to system.
notions of political agency, efficacy and self-esteem Together these findings reveal that ME-related
(Beaumont, 2010). Future cross-disciplinary theoretical education in the participating schools puts limited
research will have to provide further insight into the emphasis on advancing elements of critical democratic
interrelatedness of these notions and their value for citizenship. It also suggests that elements of CDC-
political development theory. identity, in particular, receive limited attention in the
general civics curriculum, when compared to elements of
5 Conclusions and discussion CDC-literacy and skills. Typical teacher explanations for
This article reported a qualitative study into mock paying limited attention to CDC-development in ME-
election (ME) related education in eight schools in the related education concerned the limited scope of the
Netherlands. The main aim was to gain an insight into ME-project, limited teacher facilities, a focus on ME as a
the extent to which critical democratic citizenship (CDC) participatory experience, and attention to CDC-
development is advanced in ME-related education in the knowledge and skills elsewhere in the general civics
Netherlands, and teacher rationales in this regard. After curriculum. Furthermore, limited attention to elements
distinguishing multiple elements of CDC-development as of CDC-identity can be explained by the variety in
defined in CDC-literature, the study examined: 1) which teachers’ understandings of what political identity
elements of CDC-literacy, skills and identity teachers in entails, teachers’ preferences for a “neutral” role, and
the eight schools commonly mentioned; 2) the extent to teachers’ views about their (limited) impact on students’
which these elements were specifically pursued in ME- development.
related education; and 3) discrepancies between the The limited emphasis on pursuing elements of CDC-
CDC-elements as discerned by CDC-scholars and those development in ME-related education can also be
mentioned by the teachers. understood in the larger educational context. It resides
Thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with the with the autonomy of schools and the limited space in
teachers about the educational activities that they the curriculum for organizing events. It aligns with the
organized in conjunction with the 2012 national elections scarce teacher facilities for organizing participatory pro-
revealed how the teachers repeatedly highlighted the jects in many schools (ICCS, 2009), and it aligns with the
value of introducing students to this political practice. fact that political simulations are not primarily organized
Altogether, five elements of critical literacy, skills and to stimulate meaningful learning on key objectives, but
identity development were commonly (i.e. by four typically function as a “side dish” in the Dutch civics
teachers or more) advanced in ME-related education. curriculum (Parker & Lo, 2016).
Out of these two were elements of critical literacy (viz. Further empirical studies can shed light on the
knowledge about the politics behind party programmes, generalizability of these findings for the larger Dutch and
and an understanding of the interrelatedness of politics European context, and inspiring practices in this area. In
and the quality of one’s own life), two were elements of March 2017, a follow-up quantitative study examines the
CDC-skills (viz. the ability to analyse political and civic extent to which elements of CDC-development are
events, and to co-organize MEs), and one was a sub- pursued by all teachers in secondary education in the
component of CDC-identity (viz. an embodied value of Netherlands who organize ME in their schools in
political rights). Several other CDC-elements were also conjunction with the national elections in 2017. This stu-
commonly mentioned, but predominantly fostered in the dy also examines the interrelatedness of teacher
general civics curriculum (e.g. understanding the com- intentions and school and student characteristics and
plexity of civic/political issues, voicing one’s opinion in teacher facilities in this context. The interrelatedness
respectful manner and a sense of political and/or civic between the formal and operationalized curriculum and
efficacy). students actual learning experiences will be examined by
The largest discrepancy between the CDC- conducting additional case studies.
developments cultivated by the teachers and the CDC-
93