The making of civic virtues: a school-based experiment in three countries

This paper shows that schools can foster the transmission of civic virtues by helping students to develop concrete, democratically chosen, collective projects. We draw on an RCT implemented in 200 middle schools in three countries. The program leads students to conduct citizenship projects in their...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Briole, Simone; Gurgand, Marc; Maurin, Éric; McNally, Sandra; Ruiz Valenzuela, Jenifer; Santin, Daniel
Format: Article
Status:Accepted version
Publication date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/227295
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/227295
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Educació secundària
Civisme
Participació ciutadana
Secondary education
Civics
Citizen participation
Description
Summary:This paper shows that schools can foster the transmission of civic virtues by helping students to develop concrete, democratically chosen, collective projects. We draw on an RCT implemented in 200 middle schools in three countries. The program leads students to conduct citizenship projects in their communities under the supervision of teachers trained in the intervention. The intervention caused a decline in absenteeism and disciplinary sanctions at school, alongside improved academic achievement. It also led students to diversify their friendship network. The program has stronger effects when implemented by teachers who are initially more involved in the life of the school.