Slovenská spoločnosť pre výskum mládeže

• Pridané:Jún 22, 2006
• Komentáre:Žiadny komentár
• Kategória:UP2YOUTH Slovensko

Survey n°3
Working Group: SLOVAKIA
Your Name: MACHACEK LADISLAV

Title of the study: EUYOUPART Political Participation of Young People in Europe The Slovak National Report on Quantitative Work in EUYOUPART  

Authors (who are they): Ladislav Macháček (Slovakia)

Relevance for Working Group:

EUYOUPART further suggested the importance of measuring not only the opinions and attitudes of respondents but eventually their civic and political behaviour as well as some fundamental knowledge about political life, in particular with regards to countries of the European Union.

Research Question(s):

Four questions from each area were chosen, totalling eight questions. Respondents could answer: 'true' 'false,' or 'I don't know.'
In European issues: Approximately 70% of young people have correct knowledge about the EU, its members and symbols. Only the question on the recent change of the head of the European Commission (R.Prodi – J.Barrosso) invoked a 40% "I don't know" response. In each of the four questions 15-20% of respondents answered incorrectly.

In national politics: Respondents know much more about their national politics (80-90% correct answers), when it comes to parliamentary elections or the name of the Prime Minister or Vice-Chairman of a particular political party.This set of questions was not obligatory and some countries did not include these questions into their questionnaire (Germany,Finland).

Methodology (Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative data, no. Of respondents etc.):

EUYOUPART Political Participation of Young People in Europe – Development of Indicators for Comparative Research in the European Union Project funded under the 5th Framework Programme by the EC as well as by national funding sources. Institute for Social Research and Analysis-SORA (Coordinator)  Österreichisches Institut für Jugendforschung,  Fondazione IARD, Finnish Youth Research, Network, Institute of International and Social Studies of Tallinn Pedagogical University, University of St. Cyril and Method in Trnava, Deutsches Jugend Institut, University of Birmingham, Foundation Nationale des Sciences Politiques.

Target population: Young people from 15-25 years Sample design: Stratified, multistage, clustered random sampling Sample Size: 8.030 (Austria n=1007, Estonia n=997, Finland n=1008, France n=1010, Germany n=1037, Italy n=989, Slovakia n=982, UK n=1000) Method of data collection: Face-to-Face Interviews Weighting: Yes (single national weights and one common weight, which weights all national weights to n=1000) (weighted sample size = 8.000).Datagathering in Slovakia ASA s r.o. Bratislava

Status (running, date for completion):  Field time: November 2004 until January 2005.

Results:

The results of "Political Knowledge Among Young People" are not the quality reflection of civic education in Slovakia that we would like to see. Still, the comparison showed that the same situation can be found in other countries as well. Interest in politics and national politics in particular, is associated with a better knowledge of democratic principles. For example, in Slovakia knowledge scores climb higher no matter what political orientation young people prefer ("left-wing" or "right-wing"), 71-72%. More intense political preferences underscore fundamental knowledge of democracy and its principles. The Indicator from the eight knowledge questions implies that with increasing age (15-25) the score in Slovakia grows, with the exception of "knowledge about how parliamentary democracy works". This knowledge is significantly influenced by education on democracy and citizenship as taught in Civic Education and Science on Society courses. Additionally, this knowledge is undoubtedly determined by the transformation process of the political system in post-communist countries like Slovakia. Young people are rather sceptical when it comes to public political life; they distrust institutions of the state, for example law, and there is a tendency to support autocratic forms of leadership. Our findings confirm the hypothesis that education in some countries (e.g. Austria) devotes much attention to EU issues and its institutional background.This is likely due to a more precise attitude toward studying and memorizing.Overall, women measure better on knowledge than men. In other countries (e.g. Estonia) young people aged 18-25 gain knowledgevia political participation and a general interest in politics. This is more typical of boys and young men than girls and young women. In the third group of countries (e.g. Slovakia) real civic and political participation invokes rather contradictory doubts as to what young people learned at school about principles of democracy. The democratic citizenship of individuals and nations is built on gaining knowledge of a democratic legal system. Developing one's knowledge potential is one aspect of legal awareness, but is not the only one. Under certain social circumstances it is not even the decisive one. A further element that interferes with the whole process is the conflict of social interests. This conflict could, after reaching a certain limit, eliminate the constructive knowledge potential that was gained through education9. The rather worrying results of the civic knowledge test on EU issues may be viewed as a challenge to modernize education towards democratic citizenship in schools as well as in informal education outside of schools; 2005 was declared "The Year of Education toward European Democratic Citizenship." Many assignments of this program can be found in "The Action Plan of Youth Politics in Slovakia for 2005" and are a substantial part of the European Commission's monitoring of the participation and education of youth in all EU countries. The results of the survey communicated important information for everyone involved in youth work, youth policy, and youth education within the European Union.

Publications (type of publication, language):

Macháček L  Slovenská mládež: Test elementárnych znalostí o politike a demokracii.  In: Pedagogická orientace : Odborný čtvrtletník a zpravodaj ČPdS. – ISSN 1211-4669. – è. 2 (2005), s. 15-21.   (Slovak lanquage)

Macháček,L.: Political knowledge and the political attitudes of youth in EU and Slovakia. In: The Central European Dimension of Youth Research ,CENYR,Trnava 2005, 36-46 pp. (English lanquage).

Access to raw data for secondary analysis (yes/no?):

Yes.

• Pridané:Jún 22, 2006
• Komentáre:Žiadny komentár
• Kategória:UP2YOUTH Slovensko

Survey n°2
Working Group: SLOVAKIA
Your Name: MACHACEK LADISLAV

Title of the study: EUYOUPART Political Participation of Young People in Europe The Slovak National Report on Qualitative Work in EUYOUPART (WP6)

Authors (who are they): Ladislav Macháèek (Slovakia)

Relevance for Working Group:

It is hard to say anything precise about the relations of present-day young people to politics without letting them voice their own views.

Research Question(s):

Identity : In Slovakia young people refer to their home town, region and their friends as their primary sources of identity. These are followed by school mates, colleagues at university and fellow members in organisations. Especially the young women talked about their family status.
Politics and democracy: Those young people in Slovakia who are not politically active usually have strong negative views of politics.
Political participation: Young people see their own political participation and its outcomes in terms of satisfying the needs of – in particular – the youth groups they work with in their free time. Activities included work with local councils, social activities and charity work.

Methodology (Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative data, no. Of respondents etc.):

Qualitative data:
A. Focus Groups in Slovakia – with non-active young people  5 groups with 31 persons
Groups 1-5: Age  18-25 years for all groups (female, males, high and low level of education)  
B. In-depth Interviews ("biographies of participation")  4 persons in Slovakia
The purpose was to talk to a variety of active young people who perhaps represent several types of activists. ( person active in conventional party politics, person active in unconventional ('new') politics, person active on school's council, person active in community group, participant with a unique perspective on particular aspects of the country's political culture- interview with Roma activist in Slovakia)

Status (running, date for completion): 1..01.2004 – 1.04.2004

Results:

Interviews with selected groups of young people in Slovakia at the beginning of 2004 on the themes of politics and political participation indicate their preparedness to freely express their opinions about a wide range of questions and problems of public life. At the same time they showed how originally high and obligatory, but simultaneously passive, participation in the legitimism of the communist party has changed. Nonparticipation in presidential elections or referendums is perceived as an indicator of high political culture. The political culture of the current youth generation as a whole is significantly different from generations socialized under socialist political regimes. At the same time, traditional norms and values are still present in the political culture of youth. The pluralism of the current political system and the deepening of social differentiation of originally homogeneous social structures have had an impact on the political culture of young people. Our qualitative analysis of four focus groups has enabled us to define two types of young people with different views on politics and political participation. The first group is comprised of young people (mostly young girls and women) with lower education (24-25 years old), who have little kids and solve the everyday social problems of their families. Many of them (young males) cannot find a job or longterm work. They get information about politics from TV mostly. They compare politics to a drama play on a TV screen. They spend similar amount of time while watching sporting events, pop concerts, quiz shows, etc. Politicians as actors on these shows are often discussed among their parents, relatives, or friends. Their vocabulary is rich on pejorative (dirty thing, liars) and cynical expressions. The second group comprises young people with higher education or students, most of them still single, who understand the ideas of politics, its professional dimensions, they distinguish between party politics and civic politics, they use political science terms. Many of them participate in public life and activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Publications (type of publication, language):

Macháček L  Záverečná správa z výskumu EUYOUPART CERYS FF UCM ,Trnava 2004, 60 s.(Slovak lanquage)

Macháček,L.: The Slovak National Report on Qualitative Work in EUYOUPART (WP6)  April 15,2004, CERYS FF UCM in Trnava,Trnava 2004,21 pages(English lanquage).

Kari Paakkunainen,James Sloam,Reingard Spannring:"Comparative report on qualitative research findings",august 2004,103 pages  (English lanquage)

Access to raw data for secondary analysis (yes/no?):

Yes.

• Pridané:Jún 22, 2006
• Komentáre:Žiadny komentár
• Kategória:UP2YOUTH Slovensko

Survey n°1
Working Group: SLOVAKIA
Your Name: MACHACEK LADISLAV

Title of the study: EYI -The Orientations of Young Men and Women to Citizenship and European Identity

Authors (who are they): Lynne Jamieson(UK) and all (Claire Wallace-Austria, Klaus Bohnke-Germany, Ladislav Macháček, Barbara Lašticová, Gabriel Bianchi (Slovakia)

Relevance for Working Group:

The study's main two focuses were:Orientations towards European identity – "the salience and meanings of 'being European' versus more personal, local, regional and national identities in the everyday worlds of strategically selected samples of young people. Orientations towards citizenship – "particularly the extent of emphasis on social obligations and civic participation, entitlements of birth and ethnicity, nation-based or ethnicity-based citizenship, inclusion or exclusion, tolerance or chauvinism and racism."It also looked at factors encouraging particular types of European identity and citizenship, the role of citizenship education and attitudes towards mobility, migration and racism.

Research Question(s):

The project set out to provide insights into young adults' orientations towards European identity, their feelings of being European, and their sense of European citizenship.

Methodology (Survey, secondary analysis, qualitative data, no. Of respondents etc.):

Men and women aged 18-24 were selected as the subjects of the research, allowing a gender comparison and a focus on "new citizens" – the youngest group of adults with the voting rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The nations and regions studied were deliberately chosen for their contrasting histories in terms of local nationalism and support for the project of the European Union. Within those nations and regions, a target sample was selected of young men and women oriented towards a "European" career, and a representative sample of young men and women was selected from all career paths and socio-economic backgrounds. The target sample was a more highly educated group because they were identified through career paths such as studying European law or European languages, which potentially orient young people towards Europe. The methods of data collection included a survey gathering quantitative data, and a smaller number of qualitative interviews. Interviewees were selected according to their answers to a survey question measuring strength of feeling about 'being European' on a scale of 0-4 from 'no feeling at all' (0) to 'very strong feeling' (4). It was decided to focus on young people from both extremes in order to maximise the possibility of comparison.

Status (running, date for completion): 30.09.1997 – 29.09.2000

Results:

Asked to rate the importance of various factors in "how you feel or think about yourself as a person", young people across all the sites placed most importance on interpersonal relations. Overall, European citizenship and national and regional identities were much less important, although there were regional variations.

In Germany (Bielefeld and Chemnitz) and Prague, almost-two thirds of respondents felt strongly about being European. Such feelings were at their lowest in Spain and the UK. In Bilbao, Manchester and Edinburgh, less than a third of the representative samples felt this way. Strong feelings about nation-state identity were most common among both representative and target samples in Prague and Bratislava, where almost 90% said they felt strongly about being Czech and Slovak. Equivalent feelings about Spain were claimed by only 30% of respondents from Bilbao, again with little difference between representative and target samples. "Regional-national identity" was important for residents of Edinburgh, Manchester and Vorarlberg. 64% of residents of Chemnitz felt strongly about being "East German" compared to only 41% of residents of Bielefeld who felt strongly about being "West German".Target samples of young people on Europe-oriented careers did sometimes differ significantly from the representative samples. Across all sites, higher rates of feeling European were noted among the target samples; variations between localities were muted but not eliminated.The project found that:Identification with the EU was associated with state-related identity even in those localities where regional-national identity was more important for respondents.Two main patterns of identification with 'Europe' emerged in the discourse of respondents: first, an automatic acceptance of 'being European' as an outcome of nested categories (region-in-nation-in-Europe); secondly, identification with Europe as subordinated to the predominant national identity. Both allowed compatibility between European and national identities but rarely produce passionate Europeans. Claims of incompatibility were grounded on exclusive nationalist discourses and on the perception of conflict between EU policy and the (more valued) country's own interests.European identity was still under construction and could be strengthened by increasing the number of young people's personal experiences with the EU (travel, employment mobility, learning languages and educational exchanges).

The construction of the EU, as a shared social category, was also reinforced by the perception of the EU as an independent social and political actor, for example, resisting the invasion of Iraq.
However, it was also clear that "there can be no single policy or way of committing resources that would guarantee the pervasive development of a European identity."

Publications (type of publication, language):

Macháček L. and Lášticová, B. (2003). Orientations of young People from Bratislava and Prague to Citizenship and European Identity. Sociológia, 53(3), 247-266.

Macháček L Youth in Slovakia and European Identity,SI SASC,Bratislava 2004,

Access to raw data for secondary analysis (yes/no?):

Yes, national sample of Slovakia in SPSS.