The Development of Pre-Service Teachers’ Citizenship Interest for Citizenship Education During One Year of Initial Teacher Education

• In Event: Analyzing challenges, innovations, and intentions in Global Citizenship Education

Proposal

Introduction and research question

This study examines how future teachers’ interest in citizenship topics develops over one year of initial teacher education (ITE) and how various ITE factors influence this development. Citizenship education (CE) is seen as a key solution for promoting active citizenship and building more harmonious communities, especially as Western democracies increasingly face challenges such as climate change, war, and poverty (Joris et al., 2022; Lourenço, 2021). In this context, teachers are expected to act as role models for their students, demonstrating their own engagement with civic issues (Lourenço, 2021). For instance, with digital technology’s growing role in education, future teachers must also be willing and interested in addressing ethical issues related to technology and facilitate related discussions. Research shows that teachers’ interest in citizenship topics is crucial for the successful implementation of CE. Yet, the implementation of CE may feel “forced” to many pre-service teachers because of educational policies on CE, making them not genuinely interested in teaching CE (Havia et al., 2023). Thus, ITE programs should work to actively foster this interest (Bourn et al., 2017). Despite this, there is limited longitudinal research on pre-service teachers’ citizenship interest and the effectiveness of ITE programs in developing it. This study aims to tackle these gaps by addressing the following research questions: (a) How does pre-service teachers’ citizenship interest evolve throughout one year in ITE? (b) To what extent does perceived attention to CE during internships and coursework influence (the development) of pre-service teachers’ citizenship interest? (c) To what extent do pre-service teachers’ background characteristics influence (the development of) their citizenship interest?

Theoretical framework

Demonstrating genuine interest in citizenship topics is crucial for teachers to serve as role models, as those actively engaged with civic issues are more likely to inspire similar interest in their students (Lazarides et al., 2019). Following Van Deth’s (1990) definition of political interest as the “degree to which politics arouses a citizen's curiosity” (p.18), citizenship interest in this study refers to the extent of a pre-service teachers’ curiosity about various civic aspects, including political, social, and ethical issues. Research shows a clear link between a teacher’s interest and students’ interest in a subject (Kim & Schallert, 2014; Lazarides et al., 2018; Lazarides et al., 2019). Gutsch and König (2019), found that pre-service teachers who value their subjects highly exhibit greater intrinsic and pedagogical motivation. However, Finnish researchers revealed that future teachers had much less interest in minor subjects compared to the major subjects they were trained for (Havia et al., 2023). Additionally, several studies have identified factors influencing pre-service teachers’ interest in a subject, including ITE components like internships and coursework (Ingvarson et al., 2005; Pan et al., 2023; Arviv et al., 2024), and individual characteristics such as age and ethnicity (Ingvarson et al., 2005). While there is ample research on pre-service teachers’ interest in general subjects like mathematics, the development of their citizenship interest in relation to teaching CE during ITE remains largely unexplored.

Method

A longitudinal quantitative approach was used, surveying first-year pre-service primary and secondary teachers from 26 ITE programs in Flanders. Data were collected twice: at the start of their training in September 2022 (n = 1840) and at the end of the academic year in May 2023 (n = 444). Pre-service teachers’ citizenship interest (interest) was assessed using a single item: “How interested are you in political and social issues?" measured on a 6-point Likert scale (0 = not interested at all – 5 = very interested). The perception of attention to CE during coursework (CE coursework) was measured by the item: “To what extent was there attention to CE during your courses?”, with responses on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = “no attention” to 3 = “attention in more than 2 courses”). The extent to which pre-service teachers perceived attention to CE during internships (CE internship) was measured with a scale consisting of two items (e.g., “To what extent do you agree with the following statements? My mentor(s) encouraged me to implement CE in my courses.”), rated on a 6-point Likert scale (0 = “completely disagree” to 5 = “completely agree”). Background variables including age, gender, ethnicity, religion, and social and economic ideology, were included as covariates in the analyses, with an additional control for citizenship knowledge and political efficacy. Interaction effects with time were also included. Linear mixed-effects models with repeated measures were tested, starting with a null model and proceeding with seven additional models.

Preliminary results

Regarding the first research question, the final model revealed a significant increase in citizenship interest over time (p = 0.028)), when accounting for other variables in the model. However, with respect to the second research question, no significant relationships were found between citizenship interest and either CE internship or CE coursework. As for the third research question, pre-service teachers showed significant differences in their citizenship interest based on age (p = .028), ethnicity (p = .014), religion (p = .001), religion intensity (p = .036), and level of political efficacy (p < .001). No significant interaction effects were found.

Discussion and conclusion

This study provides crucial insights into the development of pre-service teachers' citizenship interest, offering valuable guidance for enhancing ITE programs to better prepare teachers for teaching CE. Given that neither coursework nor internships significantly impacted pre-service teachers’ citizenship interest, other factors, such as extracurricular activities and internal elections, may be responsible for the increase in interest. This suggests that ITE programs could consider placing greater emphasis on non-formal learning opportunities, such as student-led initiatives and political discussions. Additionally, background characteristics significantly influenced citizenship interest, highlighting the need for tailored approaches to CE that address diverse student backgrounds. Considering the rise of digital technologies, future research could explore how digital tools could foster citizenship interest among pre-service teachers.

Author

• Emilie Vandevelde, KU Leuven