Does Civic and Citizenship Education Promote Ethnic Tolerance?

• In Event: Education, Political Participation and Values

Abstract

Previous research has shown that civic and citizenship education (CCE) enhances political participation and nurtures a sense of national identity. However, it's unclear whether it also promotes greater tolerance towards individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds. This paper investigates this question through two empirical studies. The first study examines an education reform in Singapore, where students were assigned to study a new CCE course in a quasi-random manner. The second analyzes cross-national data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). In both studies, the findings indicate that CCE alone does not improve ethnic tolerance. However, additional exploratory analyses reveal that CCE can foster greater ethnic tolerance when it is taught in (1) an ethnically diverse environment and (2) a classroom conducive to diverse opinions and viewpoints from students and teachers. These results emphasize the importance of considering other environmental factors when assessing the impact of citizenship education on ethnic tolerance.

Author

• Jeremy Siow, University of Oxford