Economic literacy and civic literacy – two distinct domains? Insights from large-scale assessments

Many school systems integrate the teaching of economic and civic issues in one subject. This raises the question, whether economic and civic literacy should be considered unified or distinct domains. This paper examines the relationship between these two domains using data from two large-scale assessments using the same representative sample of 2848 Grade 8 students in Germany: Economic Literacy – Assessing the Status Quo in Grade 8 and the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2022 . In these large-scale assessments, standardised tests measured economic and civic literacy and the respective self-efficacies. Exploratory factor analyses and structural equation modelling support a two-domain structure of economic and civic literacy observed in large-scale assessment data. The analysis reveals distinct results regarding the influence of literacy levels on self-efficacy in both civic and economic literacy. Moreover, the correlations between economic and civic literacy are specific to school types in the tracked school system in Germany. The analysis is based on a cross-sectional study, limiting the possibility for causal inferences. Despite its limitations, the study underscores the need for educational strategies that treat economic and civic education as distinct domains to enhance specific literacies and self-efficacy in both domains.