European Identity and Education in Germany and Sweden - a Mixed-Method Study
(2021) STVM23 20211Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- European identity is a crucial feature for supra-national institution building in times of renewed far-right nationalism and countries leaving the European Union. High- school education may help to prepare young students to become European citizens. Eurobarometer survey data suggests that European identity and education are strongly linked to each other. This statistical connection could be mere coincidence or evidence of a causal effect. My thesis aims to identify whether a significant relation exists between the two. The hypothesis rests on the statistical fact that older, as well as less-educated individuals, show less of a European identity. This would partly be due to the kind of education they received.
Further the hypothesis rests... (More) - European identity is a crucial feature for supra-national institution building in times of renewed far-right nationalism and countries leaving the European Union. High- school education may help to prepare young students to become European citizens. Eurobarometer survey data suggests that European identity and education are strongly linked to each other. This statistical connection could be mere coincidence or evidence of a causal effect. My thesis aims to identify whether a significant relation exists between the two. The hypothesis rests on the statistical fact that older, as well as less-educated individuals, show less of a European identity. This would partly be due to the kind of education they received.
Further the hypothesis rests on Gellner’s theory of nation building and national identity – but adapted for the European context.
The assumption will be tested by using a mixed-method approach and by investigating Sweden and Germany as case studies. The main finding is that stronger European content in schoolbooks is associated with a higher European identity. While not entirely surprising, the thesis is one of the first to translate Gellner’s to a European context and test it with a rigorous comparative politics approach. The underlying idea of my thesis is that a solid attachment to the European Union is highly desirable. It enables governments and institutions to steer the European project into a sustainable future. The empirical data exhibits a robust pattern across time and countries, and the thesis makes a contribution to the literature on European identity.
How schools and education policies contribute to European identity would therefore be an excellent starting point to foster a more united European community. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9063028
- author
- Preissner, Nils LU
- supervisor
-
- Nils Droste LU
- organization
- course
- STVM23 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- European Identity, Education, Europe, European Union, comparative politics Sweden, Germany
- language
- English
- id
- 9063028
- date added to LUP
- 2021-09-29 14:20:21
- date last changed
- 2021-09-29 14:20:21
@misc{9063028,
abstract = {{European identity is a crucial feature for supra-national institution building in times of renewed far-right nationalism and countries leaving the European Union. High- school education may help to prepare young students to become European citizens. Eurobarometer survey data suggests that European identity and education are strongly linked to each other. This statistical connection could be mere coincidence or evidence of a causal effect. My thesis aims to identify whether a significant relation exists between the two. The hypothesis rests on the statistical fact that older, as well as less-educated individuals, show less of a European identity. This would partly be due to the kind of education they received.
Further the hypothesis rests on Gellner’s theory of nation building and national identity – but adapted for the European context.
The assumption will be tested by using a mixed-method approach and by investigating Sweden and Germany as case studies. The main finding is that stronger European content in schoolbooks is associated with a higher European identity. While not entirely surprising, the thesis is one of the first to translate Gellner’s to a European context and test it with a rigorous comparative politics approach. The underlying idea of my thesis is that a solid attachment to the European Union is highly desirable. It enables governments and institutions to steer the European project into a sustainable future. The empirical data exhibits a robust pattern across time and countries, and the thesis makes a contribution to the literature on European identity.
How schools and education policies contribute to European identity would therefore be an excellent starting point to foster a more united European community.}},
author = {{Preissner, Nils}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{European Identity and Education in Germany and Sweden - a Mixed-Method Study}},
year = {{2021}},
}