The civic engagement gap among youth in secondary and tertiary education in the Netherlands: Exploring educational level differences, motivations and gender

Abstract

Civic engagement among youth is essential for the sustainability of democratic societies, yet persistent inequalities exist in how young people participate in civic life. This thesis investigates how educational level and gender relate to civic engagement among secondary school students in the Netherlands. Drawing on cultural capital theory and social role theory, the study explores how institutional structures and gendered socialization shape adolescents’ willingness to contribute to societal issues and their underlying civic motivations. Civic engagement is conceptualized as both a behavioral intention, willingness to contribute, and a dispositional orientation, normative motivation. Using data from the Betrokken Jeugd 1 project (N = 172), a series of logistic regression models were estimated to assess whether students in different educational tracks vary in their civic engagement. The findings reveal a pronounced gap: students in pre-vocational education (VMBO) were significantly less likely to express willingness to engage and were less often driven by moral responsibility. Gender did not moderate these effects. A supplementary analysis among tertiary students (N = 428) found no significant educational differences, suggesting that the civic gap is most pronounced during adolescence. These results point to early educational tracking as a key factor in civic inequality. Schools not only transmit knowledge but also shape civic dispositions, especially through differentiated access to citizenship education. The thesis concludes with policy recommendations that emphasize the need to strengthen civic education in lower educational tracks, promote moral reasoning, and support inclusive participation from an early stage. By highlighting both behavioral and motivational dimensions of civic engagement, this study contributes to sociological debates on civic inequality and informs efforts to foster a more inclusive democratic culture.