School climate and students’ citizenship competences in a changing context

Reviews of citizenship education have consistently shown a strong relation between school climate and students’ citizenship competences. However, social contexts are changing. In light of increasing complexity in societal circumstances, it remains uncertain whether schools can still provide a similarly stimulating school climate. The present study examines the association between school climate characteristics (i.e., open classroom climate for discussion and student-teacher relationship) and students’ citizenship competences between 2009, 2016, and 2022. Multilevel analyses are used to analyze this association based on data of Dutch eighth grade students (13–14 years of age). Overall, the findings show consistency in the association between school climate characteristics and student citizenship competence over time, with some exceptions. The results underline the importance of a respectful, safe climate for fostering students’ citizenship competences, in light of the increasingly complex social context in which young people grow up.