A comparative analysis of pupils' and teachers' public opinion on European citizenship and European identity in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Abstract

The European economic crisis, the migratory crisis and the Brexit in the UK are the main causes of the increasing negative moods of the European Union citizens. The research offers a comparative analysis of pupils' and teachers' viewpoints on European citizenship and European identity in selected two Visegrad Group countries. The research held in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in the fourth quarter of 2017 on the research sample of 1,973 respondents shows that the Slovak pupils and their teachers have in most cases more positive attitudes towards European citizenship and European identity than Czech pupils and their teachers. The responding Slovak pupils are more proud of being citizens of the European Union, less skeptic of the EU's activities and believe in the future of the European Union. On the other hand, the Czech pupils and teachers are more proud of the membership of the Czech Republic in the EU, as well as of the Czech activities in the European Union. In this context, the authors point out that a more intensive education relating to the European citizenship and Europeanism could increase positive attitudes towards European identity and membership in the European Union. The European dimension of education is still up to date not only in the old member states of the European Union but also in the new ones or future member states. Citizenship education unifies several social fields and disciplines including education to Europeanism, environmental, global, media, multicultural, personal and social education, and education relating to democracy and constitutionality.