“Democratic climate in classroom, does it make any difference?”

The International Civic and Citizenship Study investigates the role of schooling in preparing students for their roles as citizens. The present paper tests a model in which openness in classroom discussion is a school factor that can affect civic knowledge. A multilevel regression model with two levels was tested considering the ICSS-scaled score for civic knowledge as a dependent variable and students’ perceptions of openness in classroom discussion as an independent variable at the school level. Various control variables were analyzed. Results show that students’ civic knowledge scores resulted significantly higher if in their school there was an open classroom climate for discussion.