Open AccessMeasuring competences for democratic culture: teaching human rights through religious education
Author(s) -
Marios Koukounaras Liagkis,
Michalis Skordoulis,
Vasiliki Geronikou
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
human rights education review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2535-5406
DOI - 10.7577/hrer.4487
Subject(s) - democracy , construct (python library) , scale (ratio) , construct validity , sample (material) , citizenship , human rights , sociology , political science , mathematics education , pedagogy , psychology , law , computer science , psychometrics , geography , clinical psychology , chemistry , chromatography , politics , programming language , cartography
This paper aims to present research on measuring competences for democratic culture. It describes the development of a multiple-item scale that measures competences in teaching democratic citizenship and human rights through religious education. A principal component analysis based on the 135 items of the Council of Europe’s Reference framework of competences for democratic culture was carried out in two phases, in order to construct and refine the scale. The result was a 52-item scale divided into six components. This was tested for its reliability, factor structure and validity; firstly on a sample of 123, and secondly on a sample of 403 secondary RE teachers (2018-19). The research scrutinises the concept of democratic competences as being the ability to mobilise and deploy relevant values, attitudes, skills, knowledge and/or understanding. It concludes that these competences are more complex structures than has been assumed.