Education Models and Civic Engagement: A Natural Experiment in South Korea

• In Event: The Global Politics of Education

Abstract

How does education shape citizens? Even when schools do not explicitly teach civics, authority dynamics within schools can nurture active citizens. I distinguish two models of education to develop my theory. Under teacher-centered models, with hierarchical ties between teachers and students, teachers dominate decision-making and deliver knowledge to students. Under student-centered models, with horizontal student-teacher relations, students participate in decision-making and collectively construct knowledge. I argue that student-centered education nurtures more active citizens, by forging self-concepts as efficacious members of a larger civic community.
Any research to understand how education shapes individuals needs to grapple with the fact that individuals select into different education trajectories. I designed and fielded a study in a natural experiment setting in South Korea to address such self-selection and test my theory. I first identified school districts where students are randomly assigned either a more student-centered or a more teacher-centered school. I then fielded an original survey to middle school students and their parents in these districts. I find that individuals who are by chance attending a more student-centered school are significantly more likely to sign petitions and engage with social issues on social media.
Contrary to existing scholarship that says schools teach students to be engaged citizens, schools shape citizens even when they are not teaching civics and civic skills. Independent of civics-related content, individuals can form beliefs about their role as citizens by observing and experiencing social interactions with their peers and teachers in school.

Author

• Emily Eui Young Noh, University of Pennsylvania