Effective methods for increasing levels of political self‐efficacy for girls and disadvantaged students in England
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21444958 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bryony Hoskins (0000-0003-0474-4421, University of Roehampton London UK, corresponding author), Ngoc Bich Khuyen Dinh (0000-0002-6257-1680, University of Roehampton London UK), Christian Christrup Kjeldsen (0000-0001-5283-5622, Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-18 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-1926 • E-ISSN: 1469-3518 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/berj.70216 |
| OpenAlex | W7165131877 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 45 |
This study addresses the gap in rigorous evaluation of inclusive Citizenship Education methods in reducing gender and socioeconomic inequalities in political self‐efficacy. This article tests the effectiveness of two pedagogical approaches: counter‐narratives and think‐pair‐share. Within the context of the EU/UKRI Horizon project G‐EPIC, a quasi‐experiment was conducted with 253 Year 9 students (aged 14) recruited from 5 mixed schools across England. These schools are characterised by high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and a significant proportion of English as an additional language. Participating students were randomly and systematically allocated into 3 groups according to age and gender, and different inclusive teaching methods were then applied in each group: (A) counter‐narrative reading, (B) counter‐narrative plus think‐pair‐share or (C) a control group. All groups then participated in a structured discussion on policies on climate change. Difference in difference (DiD) analysis was employed to test the effectiveness of the different approaches. The results demonstrate that reading a counter‐narrative significantly increases political self‐efficacy among disadvantaged students, with an enhanced effect when combined with think‐pair‐share. Among disadvantaged girls, the combined method proved most effective in boosting political self‐efficacy levels. This research identifies, for the first time, that counter‐narratives and small‐group discussions are effective approaches for increasing political self‐efficacy. The study offers a scalable pathway for teachers to reduce gender and socioeconomic inequalities in democratic participation among adolescents
Context (archaeology) · Democracy · Disadvantage · Disadvantaged · Inequality · Politics · Reading (process) · Socioeconomic status · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Gender Politics and Representation · Global Education and Multiculturalism
Effect of the Number of Response Categories on the Reliability and Validity of Rating Scales
How internal political efficacy translates political knowledge into political participation
Optimal number of response categories in rating scales
Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance
Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis
Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation.
Socioeconomic Status as a Multidimensional Predictor of Student Achievement in 77 Societies
Opening to the original contributions
The Political Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Britain
Classroom counternarratives as transformative multicultural citizenship education
Addressing Migrant Inequality in Youth Political Engagement
Role models revisited
What do students learn from political simulation games? A mixed-method approach exploring the relation between conceptual and attitudinal changes
Number of books at home as an indicator of socioeconomic status
Let’s Talk Politics
Intergenerational transmission and the reinforcement of the political engagement gap
From deliberation to counter-narration
Political efficacy in adolescence
Failed Citizenship and Transformative Civic Education
Voice and Equality
The Perceived Political Self-Efficacy Scale–Short Form (PPSE-S)
The gender gap in political efficacy
Boys and girls can play
See Jane Run
Gender Stereotypes
Social Cognitive Theory
Do Psychosocial and Study Skill Factors Predict College Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis
This One's for the Boys
Socio-economic Gradients in Children's Cognitive Skills
| Highly cited | No |
|---|