A comparative analysis of pupils’ and teachers’ public opinion on European citizenship and European identity in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Economic Annals-ХХI: Volume 171, Issue 5-6(1), Pages: 50-56

Citation information:
Hubálek, T., Lincényi, M., & Staněk, A. (2018). A comparative analysis of pupils’ and teachers’ public opinion on European citizenship and European identity in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Economic Annals-XXI, 171(5-6), 50-56. doi: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V171-08

Tomáš Hubálek
PhD (Pedagogy),
Department of Social Sciences,
Faculty of Education,
Palacký University Olomouc
5 Žižkovo nám. Str., Olomouc, 771 40, Czech Republic
tomas.hubalek@upol.cz
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2260-9373

Marcel Lincényi
PhD (Media Studies),
Department of Political Science,
Alexander Dubček University in Trenčín
2 Študentská Str., Trenčín, 911 50, Slovak Republic
marcel.lincenyi@tnuni.sk
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9076-026X

Antonín Staněk
PhD (Pedagogy),
Department of Social Sciences,
Faculty of Education,
Palacký University Olomouc
5 Žižkovo nám. Str., Olomouc, 771 40, Czech Republic
antonin.stanek@upol.cz
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7643-7183

A comparative analysis of pupils’ and teachers’ public opinion on European citizenship and European identity in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Abstract. The European economic crisis, the migratory crisis and the Brexit in the UK are the main causes of the increasing negative moods of the European Union citizens. The research offers a comparative analysis of pupils’ and teachers’ viewpoints on European citizenship and European identity in selected two Visegrad Group countries. The research held in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in the fourth quarter of 2017 on the research sample of 1,973 respondents shows that the Slovak pupils and their teachers have in most cases more positive attitudes towards European citizenship and European identity than Czech pupils and their teachers. The responding Slovak pupils are more proud of being citizens of the European Union, less skeptic of the EU’s activities and believe in the future of the European Union.

On the other hand, the Czech pupils and teachers are more proud of the membership of the Czech Republic in the EU, as well as of the Czech activities in the European Union. In this context, the authors point out that a more intensive education relating to the European citizenship and Europeanism could increase positive attitudes towards European identity and membership in the European Union. The European dimension of education is still up to date not only in the old member states of the European Union but also in the new ones or future member states. Citizenship education unifies several social fields and disciplines including education to Europeanism, environmental, global, media, multicultural, personal and social education, and education relating to democracy and constitutionality.

Keywords: Citizenship; Education; Identity; Europeanism; Media; Czech Republic; Slovak Republic

JEL Classification: F50; F68; Z11

Acknowledgement: This paper is supported by the project: «Educational Paradoxes in Citizenship Education», ID: PdF UP_VaV_2018_007.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V171-08

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Received 18.08.2018