Previous civic experience and Asian adolescents’ expected participation in legal protest: mediating role of self-efficacy and interest

Not yet citizens, adolescents are encouraged through civic education to consider an active role in the future political life of their societies. This study seeks to understand the mediating role of political self-efficacy and political interest in the association between previous civic experience and Asian adolescents’ expected participation in legal protest. Using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2009, which included 23,654 students from South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Thailand, a multi-group multi-level path analysis based on Rasch measures was employed to investigate how adolescent civic experiences both in and out of school influence their expected participation in legal protest. The results showed the effect of political discussion and that of school participation were fully mediated by political interest and self-efficacy. The effect of community participation was partially mediated by political interest and self-efficacy in the five societies except South Korea. While the total effect of school participation is relatively low across the five societies, the total effect of political discussion is stronger for adolescents in East Asia (South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong) and that of community participation is stronger in South East Asia (Thailand and Indonesia).