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34 SES 05.5 A: General Poster Session
General Poster Session | ||
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34. Research on Citizenship Education
Poster Experiencing Democracy Through Acting: Practical Research on Children’s and Youth Farms and Active Playgrounds in Germany Internationale Hochschule, Germany Presenting Author:Introduction and relevance of the topic In view of current political and social challenges, there is an increasing focus on the question of how democracy as a way of life and political system can be sustainably strengthened – especially with regard to younger generations. In the European and international context, formal and non-formal educational institutions play a key role in teaching democratic values and participation from an early age. According to the 16th Report on Children and Youth (BMFSFJ 2020), other European countries are also increasingly asking how democracy education can be structured in informal educational settings. This study addresses this area of tension and examines how educational professionals at children's and youth farms and active playgrounds enable and promote democratic education in a structural and practical way in everyday life. Research question and objective The central research question of the project is: How do educational professionals enable democracy education with primary school-aged children in the everyday life of children's and youth farms and active playgrounds? This question is supplemented by perspectives on attitudes, concepts, structures and methods, with a particular focus on the conditions for successful democratic participation from an intersectional perspective (gender, social status, migration background, etc.). An additional focus is on analysing cooperation structures with state primary schools in order to identify synergies in democracy education and transferability to other European contexts. Theoretical framework The research project is based on current theoretical approaches to democracy education (Kenner/Lange 2022; Sturzenhecker 2020) and participation in child and youth welfare. Democracy education is understood as a holistic, subject-oriented process of developing maturity, based on core democratic values such as freedom, equality, justice, solidarity and emancipation. Action and space theories (Sturzenhecker 2020) emphasise the importance of spaces for experience and negotiation outside formal educational contexts in order to promote political self-efficacy. Intersectional approaches (Crenshaw 2017; Deinet/Icking 2023) enable a differentiated analysis of barriers to access, opportunities for participation and tendencies towards marginalisation. Methodological approach As an exploratory practical research study, nine children's and youth farms and active playgrounds across the UK are being qualitatively examined. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews with educational professionals, participant observation and document analysis. The systematic evaluation focuses on conditions for success and challenges from the internal perspective of these institutions and examines how cooperation with schools can strengthen democratic participation processes. European/international dimension Democracy education in non-formal learning environments is highly relevant not only for Germany but for the whole of Europe: many countries are confronted with questions of democratic legitimacy and participation in pluralistic societies. The results of the project contribute to identifying good practice models for the European educational landscape and to their transferability to similar contexts (open child and youth work, school cooperation). The systematic integration of intersectional perspectives can thus also provide impetus for international expert debates. The study serves as the basis for a planned nationwide three-year research and development project starting in 2026. In addition to a comprehensive analysis of democracy education structures in Germany, a transfer module for international further education and a strategy for Europe-wide dissemination of the results would be possible. The aim would be to strengthen democracy education and participation in the long term – both in Germany and in the European context. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The research design of the practical research project follows a triangulated, multidimensional approach that integrates three central methodological approaches: participant observation, group discussions and qualitative interviews. This mix of methods allows for a comprehensive and participatory assessment of everyday practical democracy education on children's and youth farms and active playgrounds. Module 1: Participatory observation (participatory research) In the first component, participant observation was designed to be participatory: educational professionals from the nine selected institutions received a structured observation guide and a methodological introduction so that they could observe and document typical everyday situations and interactions relating to democratic processes on site as co-researchers. Four observation units totalling up to 180 minutes were carried out per institution. The observations were recorded in structured protocols and evaluated using a code-based, categorical procedure (cf. Breidenstein et al., 2020). The aim was to make democracy education tangible and observable from an internal perspective – i.e. in the context of real interactions and decision-making processes. Module 2: Group discussion In order to gain a deeper understanding of group dynamic processes and profession-related assessments, a group discussion was held with specialists. This workshop took place on 18 October 2025 and brought together ten participants: six educational specialists from four institutions, three representatives of the sponsoring association (BdJA) and a moderator. The discussion guide focused on the core topics of democracy education, participation and cooperation with schools. The discussion was audio recorded, transcribed and evaluated using code- and category-guided analysis methods (cf. Mayring 2010; Kuckartz 2018). Module 3: Qualitative interviews In addition, qualitative guided interviews were conducted with educational professionals from all nine institutions. The interview partners were selected on the basis of their specific expertise in order to reflect different perspectives. The interviews took place online, lasted 40 to 60 minutes each, were recorded, transcribed and evaluated using coding analysis (cf. Kruse 2015; Kuckartz 2018). The participatory and multi-perspective approach ensures the systematic recording of differentiated practices and experiences and increases the validity of the research results. This methodological design supports the development of transfer strategies for democracy education at national and European level. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The expected results of the study offer differentiated insights into the opportunities and challenges of enabling participation on children's and youth farms and active playgrounds from the perspective of educational professionals. In particular, it will reveal how social inequalities – for example, with regard to migration, age, social class or gender – influence children's opportunities for participation and what specific strategies and attitudes professionals develop to promote participation in everyday life. The intersectional analysis not only identifies successful examples of co-determination and participation, but also the ambivalences and areas of tension that educational professionals are confronted with: for example, how institutional framework conditions or social differences between the federal states – especially between eastern and western Germany – influence the design of democracy education. These findings will help to systematise country-specific and structural barriers as well as promising approaches to democracy education. The research focuses in particular on how children who have had limited opportunities for participation in other educational institutions can experience democratic participation. The study shows the extent to which informal learning environments specifically open up spaces for co-determination and democratic action that are often denied to them in everyday school life. Finally, the results are discussed in terms of their significance for promoting participation as a core element of democracy education with children and placed in a national and European context. The analysed success and obstacle factors provide concrete starting points for professional practice and further training and can thus contribute to strengthening children's democratic participation and the professionalisation of educational staff. In this way, the project makes an important contribution to the further development of democracy education at national and European level. References Breidenstein, G.; Hirschauer, S.; Kalthoff, H. & Nieswand, B. (2020). Ethnografie. Die Praxis der Feldforschung (3. Auflage). Utb Verlag. Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ) (2020). Der 16. Kinder- und Jugendbericht. Förderung demokratischer Bildung im Kindes- und Jugendalter. Referat Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Berlin. Crenshaw, K. (2017). On Intersectionality: Essential Writings. The New Press. [Hinweis: Im Originaltext nur als „Crenshaw 2017“ zitiert]. Deinet, U.; Icking, M. (2023). Ergebnisse einer Befragung der Jugendfarmen und Aktivspielplätze in Deutschland. In: Offene Spielräume – Zeitschrift für Offene Arbeit mit Kindern und Jugendlichen, Ausgabe 4/2023. Stuttgart. Kenner, S. & Lange, D. (2022). Demokratiebildung als Querschnittsaufgabe. In: W. Beutel, M. Gloe, G. Himmelmann, D. Lange, V. Reinhardt & A. Seifert (Hrsg.), Handbuch Demokratiepädagogik (S. 62–71). Wochenschau Verlag. Kruse, J. (2015). Qualitative Interviewforschung. Ein integrativer Ansatz. Beltz Juventa. Kuckartz, U. (2018). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterstützung (4. Auflage). Beltz Juventa. Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Grundlagen und Techniken. Beltz Juventa. Sturzenhecker, B. (2020). Demokratiebildung als Praxis demokratischer Partizipation in der Offenen Kinder- und Jugendarbeit. Impulspapier zur Digitalen Fachtagung der Fachstelle politische Bildung: „Forschungs- und Praxisfelder politischer Bildung“ (2.–3. Nov. 2020). Online: https://padlet.com/tfb/session-1-politische-bildung-und-demokratiebildung-zwei-seit-idgfq8onrndrt31x/wish/775338923 (Zugriff: 29.01.2026). 34. Research on Citizenship Education
Poster "How Do School Students Experience Agency in Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning?" Astana Garden International School, Kazakhstan Presenting Author:Contemporary research demonstrates that students experience agency in interdisciplinary project-based learning (PBL) primarily through active participation in meaningful learning activities, where they are given genuine opportunities to influence both the course and the content of their work (Guerra et al., 2025; Sjølie et al., 2022). In this context, agency is not understood as a stable personal trait of the learner; rather, it is conceptualized as a dynamic process that emerges through ongoing interaction with other participants and the educational environment (Sánchez-García & Reyes-de-Cózar, 2025; Tierney et al., 2025). Accordingly, students engage in formulating problems, making decisions, and revising their ideas as projects unfold, continuously responding to feedback from teachers, peers, and, in some cases, external audiences. Moreover, the interdisciplinary character of project work further strengthens students’ experience of agency. By allowing learners to draw flexibly on knowledge, methods, and practices from different subject areas, interdisciplinary PBL enables them to address complex, real-life–like problems in more authentic ways (Boronina et al., 2024; Rajala et al., 2023). Consequently, students increasingly come to perceive themselves not merely as executors of predefined assignments but as authors and creators of knowledge. In addition, empirical studies indicate that, when supported by appropriate pedagogical scaffolding, project-based work can foster growth in students’ sense of responsibility and learning motivation, even in contexts characterized by strict academic requirements (Yang et al., 2025; Rehman et al., 2024). At the same time, the literature consistently highlights that student agency remains fragile and highly dependent on the distribution of power within the classroom. Excessive teacher control and rigidly predefined project frameworks can significantly constrain opportunities for independent decision-making and student initiative (Engeness & Gamlem, 2025; Rajala et al., 2023; Sjølie et al., 2022). Consequently, agency in interdisciplinary PBL is best understood as a dynamic and relational phenomenon, shaped through the interplay of pedagogical design, social interactions, and broader institutional constraints. Despite the growing body of international research on student agency in interdisciplinary PBL, the literature review reveals that empirical studies examining how students in Kazakhstan experience agency in such contexts remain limited. In response to this gap, the present study aims to explore how school students experience autonomy within interdisciplinary PBL contexts in Kazakhstan. Accordingly, the guiding research question is: How do students experience autonomy in interdisciplinary PBL contexts? To address this question, the study is grounded in the ecological approach to agency (Priestley, Biesta, & Robinson, 2015). This framework conceptualizes agency as emerging through the dynamic interaction of three interrelated dimensions: learners’ past experiences and dispositions (the iterational dimension), their engagement with the present learning context (the practical–evaluative dimension), and their orientations toward future goals and aspirations (the projective dimension). Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used This study adopts a qualitative case study design to explore how students experience agency within interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning (PBL) at Astana Garden International School (AGIS). A qualitative approach is appropriate for examining students’ perceptions, decision-making, and participation in project processes, as it enables close attention to meaning-making and lived experience rather than the measurement of predefined outcomes (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The case study design supports in-depth exploration of how agency is enacted within a specific school context over time. AGIS has implemented interdisciplinary PBL as a whole-school pedagogical approach for six years across lower secondary grades. Each PBL cycle is organised as a structured, term-long process designed to support sustained inquiry and student ownership of learning. The cycle begins with a formal launch event introducing interdisciplinary driving questions, project goals, timelines, and assessment criteria, framing learning around real-world problems and positioning students as active participants within project teams. Interdisciplinary teacher collaboration precedes the launch to ensure alignment with curriculum requirements and, where relevant, the Sustainable Development Goals, while preserving space for student choice and interpretation. During the inquiry phase, students work in stable teams and engage in research, analysis, and solution design supported by milestones and ongoing formative feedback. Reflective journals function as a metacognitive tool, enabling students to document decisions, challenges, and evolving understanding. Inquiry is further enriched through excursions, guest lectures, university visits, factory tours, and interactions with external organisations. Assessment integrates subject-specific criteria with shared rubrics for transferable skills, reinforcing disciplinary learning and agency-related competencies. Each cycle concludes with a public exhibition, where students present their work to an authentic audience. Selected projects are recognised through jury nominations, and post-project surveys from students, teachers, and parents inform ongoing evaluation. The study focuses on students in Grades 7–8 (ages 12–14) participating in interdisciplinary PBL during the 2024–2025 academic year. Purposeful sampling included students from different project teams and with varying levels of responsibility, enabling exploration of diverse experiences of agency. Data collection included semi-structured student interviews, non-participant observations, analysis of student artefacts, and school survey data. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2021), informed by conceptualisations of student agency as agentic engagement (Reeve & Shin, 2020). Informed consent was obtained from parents, student assent was secured, and all data were anonymised in line with ethical guidelines for research involving minors (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The thematic analysis identifies four interrelated patterns in students’ experience of agency in interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning at Astana Garden International School: (1) structured choice within predefined topics, (2) agency enacted through project implementation, (3) team-based and relational agency, and (4) agency intensifying through public exhibition. Across projects, agency was most consistently expressed through structured choice. While interdisciplinary topics were set at the curricular level, students exercised agency by selecting the direction within the topic (e.g., focusing on water, air, or soil pollution) and choosing the specific geographical area in Kazakhstan for investigation. This corresponds with descriptions of student agency as choice, ownership, and autonomy developing over time within well-designed project structures (Lenz & Larmer, 2020). Agency became more visible in the implementation phase, where students made consequential decisions about learning pathways: which expert to invite, whom to interview, and which educational visits to organise; in several cases, parents were engaged as experts or organisers. This aligns with scholarship conceptualising student agency as students’ constructive contribution and input into the learning process, including expressing preferences, making suggestions, and requesting resources (Reeve & Shin, 2020). Agency was also experienced as relational and collective. Students negotiated roles according to strengths (e.g., research, communication, design, coordination), and school survey data indicate that responsibility and engagement were higher in groups with positive interpersonal dynamics. This is consistent with research framing PBL as fostering student ownership, engagement, and motivation through active participation and student artefacts/reflections (Schneider, 2022). Finally, agency reached its highest visibility during public exhibitions, particularly in front of parents: students demonstrated increased ownership, confidence, and accountability for quality. This pattern is consistent with accounts that student agency is built across repeated PBL experiences and becomes more observable as learners gain skills and confidence over time (Lenz & Larmer, 2020), reflecting AGS’s six-year implementation trajectory. References Boronina, L. N., Andreeva, E. V., Krotova, E. V., & Zaitseva, A. S. (2024). Student agency manifestation in a project-based learning: A case of the Federal University. Education and Information Technologies, 29(9), 11987–12005. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. Engeness, I., & Gamlem, S. M. (2025). Agency in digital education: Empowering students and teachers. Education Sciences, 15(8), 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081051 Guerra, A., Holgaard, J. E., Kolmos, A., & Ulriksen, L. (2025). Examining engineering design students’ perceptions of agency for sustainability in a problem- and project-based learning context: A Q methodology study. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 35(1), 1–22. Lenz, B., & Larmer, J. (2020). Project-based learning that makes a difference. Educational Leadership, 77(6), 66–71. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/project-based-learning-that-makes-a-difference Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: An ecological approach. Bloomsbury Academic. Rajala, A., Martin, J., & Kumpulainen, K. (2023). Putting the social into learner agency: Understanding social relationships and affordances. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 36, 100676. Reeve, J., & Shin, S. H. (2020). How teachers can support students’ agentic engagement. Theory Into Practice, 59(2), 150–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1702451 Rehman, N., Huang, X., Mahmood, A., AlGerafi, M. A. M., & Javed, S. (2024). Project-based learning as a catalyst for 21st-century skills and student engagement in the math classroom. Heliyon, 10(23), e39988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39988 Sánchez-García, A. B., & Reyes-de-Cózar, S. (2025). Enhancing project-based learning: A framework for optimizing structural design and implementation—A systematic review with a sustainable focus. Sustainability, 17(2), 743. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020743 Schneider, J. M. (2022). Student agency, engagement, autonomy, and motivation through a hybrid project-based learning approach (Doctoral dissertation). ProQuest LLC. (ERIC No. ED650363). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED650363 Sjølie, E., Espenes, T. C., & Buø, R. (2022). Social interaction and agency in self-organizing student teams during their transition from face-to-face to online learning. Computers & Education, 181, 104463. Tierney, W. G., Urban, C., & Olabuenaga, C. (2025). Designing for equity: Moving project-based learning from equity-adjacent to equity-infused. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 19(1), Article 4. Yang, P., Chen, S., Zhang, W., & Chen, J. (2025). The impact of project-based learning on EFL learners’ learning motivation and academic performance: An empirical study in a Chinese rural school. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, Article 1132. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05519-y 34. Research on Citizenship Education
Poster Knowledge, training and assessment of the Civic Competence of Early Childhood and Primary Education Teachers 1: University of Valencia, Spain; 2: University of Alicante, Spain; 3: IES Escultor en Badia (Generalitat Valenciana) Foios Presenting Author:We live in a complex world (Morin, 2020), with great changes that affect a great diversity of aspects; a complicated situation in today's world with the economic, political, war and migration processes so closely linked. Given this, we ask ourselves: Are teachers prepared for this task? How should we educate ourselves in Citizen Competence, one of the European Key Competencies of the 2018 Recommendation? Is it relevant to train in this competition? Citizen Competence is part of the European Key Competences of the 2018 Recommendation of the European Commission. Citizenship Competence is the ability to act as responsible citizens, participate fully in social and civic life, understand social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures, and sustainability and world events (CEDEFOP, 2024). Presents essential knowledge, skills and attitudes. Citizen Competence is based on knowing the basic concepts and phenomena related to the individual, the group, the organization of work, society, the economy and culture; understand common European values (Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union); contemporary events; the critical understanding of the most notable events in national, European and world history; awareness of the objectives, values and policies of social and political movements; awareness of sustainable systems, especially demographic and climate change in the global context and its underlying causes. The capacities that are intended to be formed with Citizen Competence are the ability to interact effectively with other people in the common or public interest, including the sustainable development of society; critical thinking and integrated problem solving skills; the capacities for the development of arguments and constructive participation in community activities; decision-making at all levels, from local and national to European and international; They imply the possibility of accessing both traditional and new media and understanding their functions and role in democratic societies, having a critical understanding of them and interacting with them. The attitudes that Citizen Competition develops are respect for human rights as the basis of democracy; a responsible and constructive attitude; constructive participation, which implies the willingness to participate in democratic decision-making at all levels and in all civic activities; support for social and cultural diversity, gender equality and social cohesion; sustainable lifestyles, promotion of the culture of peace and non-violence; respect for the privacy of others; assume responsibilities for the environment; interest in socioeconomic and political events and the humanities; interest in intercultural communication, to overcome prejudices and to compromise when necessary, and guarantee equity and social justice. In the Spanish educational context, with Law 3/2020 that modifies the LOE, these competencies are included and are part of the curriculum of the different educational stages, which, in Spain, as indicated by the Constitution (1978), must start from a Royal Decree on minimum education and due to the territorial organization in Autonomous Communities, the regulations of the curriculum of each of them must be included. For all these reasons, in the stages of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education, we start from the Royal Decrees that include citizen competence. To do this, the teachers of these educational stages must be trained and know different basic aspects. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used Throughout the research, the aim is to determine the level of knowledge of the teachers in European issues, as well as to know if the teachers are trained to introduce Citizen Competence in the curriculum. For this purpose, an instrument is created that is designed, validated and applied to the teaching staff of an Early Childhood Education and Primary Education centre in the Valencian Community, which includes 41 teachers, willing to collaborate in the study. An ad hoc questionnaire is designed, based on how Citizen Competence is understood in the Recommendation of the European Union (Council of the European Union, 2018). This questionnaire is made up of 17 items that combine open, dichotomous, multiple choice and rating scale questions. Items 1, 3, 4 and 5 are dichotomous, in which respondents must indicate whether or not they know the 4 symbols, values, objectives and current European Treaties that consolidate the European Union. Item 2 is intended for participants to order from highest to lowest in which context they feel most identified (local, regional, national, European or world citizen). Item 6 is a multiple-choice question in which the respondent is intended to index the joint educational aspects with the European Union. The next of the items that make up the questionnaire aims to know, among different options, which are the Key Competencies for lifelong learning that should be considered in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education. The subsequent questions (8, 9 and 10) are focused on knowing the training aspects of teachers in European issues, as well as the opinion on the importance of training children in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education in European values. Items 11, 12 and 13 aim to determine different aspects of the work of Citizen Competence in the classrooms (essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes). Question 14 is an open question where teachers are asked to indicate with what activities and methodologies Citizen Competence is developed in students. Items 15 and 16 aim to know the training aspects of teachers in Citizen Competence (training context and opinion on the level of training received in this subject). The questionnaire ends with an open response item where respondents can express whatever they wish related to the topic under investigation. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings From the application of the questionnaire the following conclusions are obtained: - More than 80% of those surveyed state that they do not know basic aspects of the European Union - Most of the participants state that, in educational aspects, what we share with the European Union are the validation of degrees, Key Competencies and the acceptance of mobility between countries of the Union. - The Key Competencies established in the Recommendation of the Council of Europe in 2018 are known by most of the participating teachers. - Among the main sources of training on European issues, the educational centre and the media stand out; 22% of the participants stating that they have not received any type of training being significant. More than 75% consider their training in European issues to be very scarce, as well as highlighting the importance of training children in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education in European values. - The main aspects that are worked on in the classrooms related to Citizen Competence include awareness of European and global cultural diversity and identities; critical thinking and problem-solving skills; and numerous attitudes such as respect for human rights, constructive participation, support for social and cultural diversity, gender equality and social cohesion; However, teachers are unaware of numerous contents inherent to “Citizen Competence” within the European Key Competences. - Almost 20% of the participants indicate that they have not received any training in Citizen Competence. After these results, it is very important that these aspects are consolidated and go hand in hand with strategies to support a better world. To achieve this, teacher training must be improved, so that it has an impact on the training of future European citizens. References CEDEFOP (2024). https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/vet-glossary/glossary/ikanotita-politeiotitas Council of the European Union (2018). Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (Text with EEA relevance) (2018/C 189/01). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018H0604(01) Escola Europaea (2018). Key Competences for Lifelong Learning in the European Schools. https://www.eursc.eu/BasicTexts/2018-09-D-69-en-2.pdf European Commission (2019). Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. European Union. file:///D:/Descargas/key%20competences%20for%20lifelong%20learning-NC0219150ENN-1.pdf | ||