Skip to the main content

Collected Papers of the Faculty of Law of the University of Rijeka / Raccolta di scritti della Facoltà di giurisprudenza dell'Università di Rijeka / Gesammelte Schriften der Rechtswissen, Vol. 42 No. 1, 2021.

Preliminary communication

https://doi.org/10.30925/zpfsr.42.1.3

CONSTITUTIONAL LITERACY AS A PRECONDITION OF CIVIC LITERACY: CONSTITUTIONAL LITERACY RESULTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHERS IN THE CITY OF RIJEKA

Sanja Barić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0001-6496-9062 ; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Rijeka, Croatia
Sandra Debeljak orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-2183-8238 ; Polytechnic of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Maja Gligora Marković orcid id orcid.org/0000-0003-4711-2969 ; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine

Full text: croatian pdf 544 Kb

page 43-68

downloads: 828

cite

Abstract

In occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (22/12/1990 – 22/12/2020) our starting premise is that an underdeveloped political culture contributes to suboptimal functioning of constitutional democracy in our country. Given the well know link between civic and constitutional literacy, the latter being the essential ingredient of the former, we have developed a general measuring instrument of constitutional literacy and conducted a research of constitutional literacy among the highly educated citizens of the City of Rijeka. The sample consisted of 44% (N=561) higher education teachers of the University of Rijeka, the Polytechnics of Rijeka and Private University College - PAR. Data analysis leads to the following conclusions. There is a substantial interest for the content, functioning and interpretation of our Constitution. However, the existing knowledge on the Constitution revealed only basic levels and common points at the same time demonstrating deeply concerning lack of knowledge in relation to real life constitutional reflections and recent constitutional events. The major examples are the following: above 46% of examinees does not know how the executive is formed (i.e., what the majority for its investiture is), above 42% is not aware of the marriage referendum and 70% does not know that the EU law has primacy over the member states national laws. At the same time, and more encouraging, an adequate level of self-criticism and self-awareness of constitutional (il)literacy has been established, as well as the relevant self-initiated readiness for (on-line) education on the matter.

Keywords

constitutional literacy; Constitution of the Republic of Croatia; University of Rijeka; Polytechnic of Rijeka; PAR University College Rijeka

Hrčak ID:

257725

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/257725

Publication date:

24.5.2021.

Article data in other languages: croatian

Visits: 2.398 *