Asian students' citizenship values and their relationship to civic understanding: An exploratory study comparing thai and Hong Kong students

Abstract

This article draws on data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) to compare selected citizenship values of students from Thailand and Hong and the relationship of these values to students' civic knowledge. The results indicated considerable differences in the responses of students from each society and differing impacts on their civic knowledge. The models proposed here seem to be more explanatory of the Thai students' responses than they are of Hong Kong students', so additional explanations need to be found for the latter's achievement. This study, for example, has been able to account for just over 32% of the variance in Thai students' civic knowledge, but for only 14% for Hong Kong students. It represents an important start in seeking a fuller explanation of students' civic learning in different cultural, political and social contexts.