How do student and school resources influence civic knowledge? Evidence from three cohorts of Australian tenth graders

Abstract

Students from less fortunate families and in less advantaged schools often perform worse than their more advantaged peers. The Australian Labor Government (2007–2013) initiated the “Building the Education Revolution” to establish a more effective and just education system, reaching a meaningful consensus on the development of active and informed citizens across all Australian states and territories. Using nationally representative data, this study examines how student background, school context, and school composition are associated with civic knowledge, whether students from low-status families are particularly disadvantaged in schools with more advantaged peers (big-fish-little-pond effect), and whether and how these associations have changed between 2007 and 2013. The results of multiple-group multilevel linear regression models suggest that student background and school characteristics are associated with civic knowledge, and that school characteristics moderate the associations between civic knowledge and school composition. Taken together, the data provide little evidence that the disparities in civic knowledge due to socioeconomic inequalities have declined over time. These inequities are problematic as gaps in civic knowledge can affect the quality of democracy, particularly in a country where voting is mandatory. The reproduction of educational inequality remains a challenge for social and educational policy in Australia.