Law-related education is intended to cultivate the legal competencies necessary for citizenship. This goal should translate into concrete actions that can be practiced in everyday life, yet the exploration of practical actions has been relatively unde...
Law-related education is intended to cultivate the legal competencies necessary for citizenship. This goal should translate into concrete actions that can be practiced in everyday life, yet the exploration of practical actions has been relatively underdeveloped in law-related education discussions. In particular, elementary school students experience various legal norms and legal processes in their daily lives, but the perspective of elementary school students as active actors who make judgments and take actions in relation to the law has only recently been developed.
This study assumes elementary school students as civic actors interacting with the legal system and conceptualizes ‘legal behavior’ as a behavioral goal of law-related education that they should reach. This study focused on the perceived justice of legal experiences as means to increase elementary school students' legal behavior intention. It also sought to identify the influence of procedural justice that varies according to their identity as citizens, as it is believed that their judgment of concrete situations may vary depending on their social identity.
Given these issues, this study examined the effects of elementary school students' perceptions of procedural justice on their intention to take legal action in two parts. First, we examined whether there is a difference in legal behavioral intention (intention to follow the law, intention to use the law, and intention to form the law) depending on the procedural justice situation (voice × impartiality) and individual civic identity. Second, we examine whether the effect of procedural justice perceptions on legal behavioral intentions differs according to the level of civic identity of the individual. The research questions and hypotheses are as follows.
□ Research Question 1: How does elementary school students' perception of procedural justice affect their intention to take legal action?
■ Main Hypothesis 1. Higher levels of perceived procedural justice among elementary school students will lead to their intention to take legal action.
- Sub-hypothesis 1-1. Intention to comply with the law will be highest when both opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality are ensured.
- Sub-hypothesis 1-2. Intention to utilize the law will be highest when both opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality are ensured.
- Sub-hypotheses 1-3. Intention to egage in shaping the law will be highest when both opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality are ensured.
□ Research Question 2: How does civic identity influence elementary school students' intention to take legal action?
■ Main hypothesis 2. Higher civic identity will lead to stronger elementary school students' intention to take legal action.
- Sub-hypothesis 2-1. Higher sense of belonging will lead to higher intention to comply with the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 2-2. Higher perceived responsibility will lead to higher intention to comply with the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 2-3. Higher sense of belonging will lead to higher intention to utilize the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 2-4. Higher perceived responsibility will lead to higher intention to utilize the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 2-5. Higher sense of belonging will lead to higher intention to engage in shaping the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 2-6. Higher perceived responsibility will lead to higher intention to engage in shaping the law.
□ Research Question 3: How does civic identity moderate the effect of perceived procedural justice on legal behavior intention?
■ Hypothesis 3. Higher levels of civic identity will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on legal behavior intention.
- Sub-hypothesis 3-1. Higher sense of belonging will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on intention to comply with the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 3-2. Higher sense of responsibility will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on intention to comply with the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 3-3. Higher sense of belonging will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on intention to utilize the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 3-4. Higher sense of responsibility will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on intention to utilize the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 3-5. Higher sense of belonging will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on intention to engage in shaping the law.
- Sub-hypothesis 3-6. Higher sense of responsibility will strengthen the effect of perceived procedural justice on intention to engage in shaping the law.
To test the research hypotheses, surveys were conducted at six elementary schools located in Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces. Participants were 5th and 6th graders, and 486 valid responses were used in the analysis. The hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling, and the results of the analysis are summarized below, focusing on the significant findings.
We tested three sub-hypotheses for research question 1, and first, sub-hypothesis 1-1 was accepted. Elementary school students' intention to comply with the law was highest in situations where both opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality were ensured. Second, sub-hypothesis 1-2 was rejected. Intention to utilize the law was higher in situations where both opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality were ensured than in situations where opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality were not ensured. Third, sub-hypothesis 1-3 was rejected. Intention to use the law was lowest in situations where both opportunity to voice opinions and impartiality were ensured.
Regarding research question 2, sub-hypotheses 2-1 and 2-3 regarding the sense of belonging among the components of civic identity were accepted and sub-hypothesis 2-5 was rejected. On the other hand, sub-hypotheses 2-2, 2-4, and 2-6 regarding perceived responsibility were all accepted. The higher the elementary school students' sense of belonging, the higher their intention to comply and utilize the law, and the higher their perceived responsibility as citizens, the higher their intention to comply, utilize the law, and engage in shaping the law. Finally, only sub-hypothesis 3-5 was accepted in relation to research question 3. There was a moderating effect of sense of belonging on the effect of perceived procedural justice on the intention to engage in shaping the law.
Based on these findings, we propose the following educational implications. First, when enforcing rules in schools, it is necessary to ensure that the rule enforcement process is fair. Respecting students' opinions and keeping judgment standards unbiased during the rule enforcement process can lead to students' voluntary compliance with rules. It also contributes to the formation of a good sense of how the law should work in society. However, providing fair procedures alone is not enough to foster legal behavior. Students should also be encouraged to develop their own sense of fairness and problem-solving skills by analyzing examples of injustice they encounter in daily life and exploring possible alternatives. Moreover, results of this study indicates that the effect of perceived procedural justice can be moderated by civic identity, especially the sense of belonging to a community. Therefore, civic education should be designed to promote the formation of students' civic identity. In particular, students should be given educational opportunities to think critically about how communities operate and what they value, based on their emotional ties to the community. This approach can prevent a sense of belonging from turning into unconscious loyalty or passive acceptance of institutions.
In order to reach the behavioral goals of law-related education, this study aimed to examine how elementary school students’perceptions of procedural justice and their civic identity influence their intention to take legal action. Based on these findings, meaningful educational experiences should be provided to empower students to exercise their legal responsibilities and rights in the present-not just in the future.