For participants
Procedure for teachers and school principals
Dear teachers and school principals,
Your school’s participation in ICCS 2027 will make a significant contribution to gaining current and valuable knowledge about civic and citizenship education in schools. Thank you very much for being a part of it!
You probably have some questions about the study procedure. We would like to provide some answers below.
Your school has been chosen to participate in the ICCS 2027 field trial.
What is a field trial?
The field trial serves to apply the questionnaires and knowledge tests developed for ICCS 2027 in practice for the first time and to try out their feasibility. It also helps us to test the organisational processes in preparation for the main survey.
Who is participating in the ICCS 2027 field trial?
The field trial is taking place in selected federal states at general schools. Two eighth-grade classes per school have been selected for the survey. Further, the study includes all teachers who teach in the eighth grade and all teachers at the school who teach a subject related to civic and citizenship education. Moreover, school principals will also be surveyed.
When and where will the ICCS 2027 field trial take place?
For students, the field trial will be conducted on site at the selected schools between January and March 2026. For teachers and school principals the study will be conducted online at the same time.
Your school has been chosen to participate in the ICCS 2027 main study.
What is the ICCS 2027 main study?
The ICCS 2027 main study consists of a representative survey among students, teachers and school principals. The data collection is part of an international large scale assessment. There are three use cases: Firstly, the data will be used as part of the national and international educational monitoring. Secondly, participating schools will get an individual feedback. Thirdly, data analyses will inform research and educational development.
Who participates in the ICCS 2027 main survey?
The ICCS 2027 main study will take place throughout Germany in general education schools and special needs schools. In general education schools, one eighth-grade class is designated to participate. In special needs schools, eighth-grade students with at least one of the following special educational needs – learning, language, and/or emotional and social development – are designated to participate. Further, the main study will also include all teachers who teach eighth grade, as well as all teachers at the school who teach a subject related to civic and citizenship education. In addition, the principals of the participating schools will be included.
When and where will the ICCS 2027 main study take place?
For all Students, the main study will be conducted on site at the selected schools between February and May 2027. Teachers and school principals will be surveyed using an online questionnaire.
How are the field trail and the main survey conducted?
One test day is scheduled per class for both the field trail and the main study. The student surveys in the participating schools are conducted by specially trained test administrators.
On the test day, each student will complete a test module (45 minutes), an international student questionnaire (approx. 40-50 minutes), and an European student questionnaire (20 minutes), with breaks in between. All parts of the study are administered on computers. If schools do not have enough suitable devices, the test administrators will bring them along and make them available according to previous consultation.