Relativ ålder, relativ påverkan? : En kvantitativ studie baserad på CIVED-data, grundad i teorin om kumulativa för- och nackdelar, av sambandet mellan relativ ålder och svenska högstadieelevers benägenhet att bli aktiva demokratiska medborgare – för elevg

Sammanfattning: The purpose and aim of this study are to examine a hitherto poorly understood aspect of the influence of relative age in the school environment – the correlation between relative age and the students’ likelihood to become active participants in societies democratic processes. This correlation is also checked for gender-based differences. The material used for the empirical study is the Swedish dataset from IEA’s CIVED research project. The study applies a theoretical framework inspired by the theory of cumulative (dis)advantages, coupled with existing research findings related to relative age and schooling, which tends to focus on cognitive, academic, psychological, and socioemotional aspects. Building on this framework, two hypotheses regarding the correlation between relative age and Swedish 8:th graders’ likelihood of becoming active participants in societies democratic processes, with potential gender differences in mind, are formed. The hypotheses are tested using crosstabulations and analyses of variance (ANOVA) to determine the type of correlation, its statistical significance and strength. In stark contrast with the formed hypotheses no significant correlations of any noteworthy strength are found for relative age and Swedish 8:th graders’ likelihood of becoming active participants in societies democratic processes. The study also fails to identify any gender differences in these correlations. The findings could be taken as evidence for the fine workings of the levelling aspect of the Swedish school system. Another conclusion could be that the ability of schools to influence students’ likelihood of becoming active participants in societies democratic processes is so limited that differences in relative age simply does not matter since no student, regardless of relative age, is impacted by the school in this regard. Although unexpected, the findings are in line with parts of the previous research regarding relative age and schooling. The findings are also in keeping with some aspects of the theoretical foundations, suggesting the effect of relative age to be dependent upon the institutional framework and specific conditions of different countries and school systems. The didactic implications of the study are limited. However, based on previous research, an awareness of the potential relative age effects in different aspects of education is suggested. Further research seems to be needed to properly understand the effects of relative age on the students’ likelihood to become active participants in societies democratic processes, as well as on the effects of relative age in the Swedish school system.