README file
Data Set Title: “CATCH-EyoU. Processes in Youth’s Construction of Active EU Citizenship. Italian Longitudinal (Wave 1 and 2) Questionnaires. EXTRACT. Perceived School Characteristics Fostering Civic Engagement”
Data Set Authors: Elvira Cicognani (University of Bologna), https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8653-290X; Peter Noack (University of Jena); Petr Macek (Masaryk University), https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6977-5811.
Data Set Contributors: Iana Ivanova Tzankova (University of Bologna), https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7172-2009; Cinzia Albanesi (University of Bologna), https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8240-6159.
Data Set Contact Person: Iana Ivanova Tzankova (University of Bologna), https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7172-2009, iana.tzankova2@unibo.it.
Data Set License: this data set is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Publication Year: 2021
Project Info: CATCH EyoU (Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European YOUth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions), funded by European Union, Horizon 2020 Programme, Grant Agreement num. 649538, http://www.catcheyou.eu/.
Data set Contents
The data set consists of: 
•	1 quantitative file saved in .csv format
CATCHEyoU_WP7_Italian_Longitudinal_PerceivedSchoolCharacteristics.csv. It contains a spreadsheet with 33 items taken from the Italian CATCH-EyoU Waves 1 and 2 Questionnaires data (see https://zenodo.org/record/1313646). 
•	1 README file saved in .rtf format
README_CATCHEyoU_WP7_Italian_Longitudinal_PerceivedSchoolCharacteristics.rtf
Data set Documentation
Abstract
This dataset contains the underlying data of the following article published in the journal Frontiers in Political Science:
Tzankova, I., Albanesi, A., & Cicognani, E. (2021). Perceived school characteristics fostering civic engagement among adolescents in Italy. Frontiers in Political Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.611824 
The dataset consists of longitudinal quantitative data collected in Italy within Work Package 7 of the research project CATCH EyoU (Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European YOUth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions). The sample consists of 685 adolescents between 14 and 19 years old. They participated in the study on a voluntary basis and filled paper and online questionnaires, after receiving an invitation from the researchers and a presentations of the aims of the study. The data was used in the analysis of how perceived democratic school characteristics (democratic school climate, student participation and critical reflection at school) could promote civic participation at a one-year interval through the increase of institutional trust, efficacy beliefs and political and social interest. In particular, the following variables are included: classroom, age, gender, school track, perceived income, democratic school climate, student participation at school, school quality of participation (critical reflection), political interest, political trust, civic participation. Names of items from wave 1 start with letter “A_”, while names of items from wave 2 start with letter “B_”.
This data is made available for open access in compliance with H2020 Program regulation, following the guidelines stipulated by the Data Management Plan adopted by the CATCH-EyoU research project. 
File specifics
The dataset file was generated through IBM SPSS Software.
Data source
The Italian CATCH-EyoU Waves 1 and 2 Questionnaires data. 
Codebook of variables 
Variable name	Variable description (item)	Values	
Classroom	Classroom ID	88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Age	[T1] How old are you?	Age in years
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Gender	[T1] Gender	0 = Female
1 = Male
2 = Other
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Income	[T1] Does the money your household has cover everything your family needs?	1 = Not at all
2 = Partly
3 = Mostly
4 = Fully
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Track	[T1] What school track are you attending?	1 = Lower track
2 = Higher track
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim1	[T1] Students are encouraged by the school to make up their own minds.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim2	[T1] Teachers respect our opinions and encourage us to express our opinions during the classes.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim3	[T1] Teachers encourage us to discuss political and social issues with people who hold different opinions.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim4	[T1] Our teachers treat us fairly.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim5	[T1] The rules in our school are fair.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim6	[T1] Students at our school can influence how our school is run.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Sclim7	[T1] At our school, students' requests are taken seriously.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Studeng1	[T1] Have you represented other students in the student council or in front of teachers or the school principal?	“0” = No
“1” = Yes
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Studeng2	[T1] Have you been active in a student group or club (e.g., drama, school newspaper)?	“0” = No
“1” = Yes
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Studeng3	[T1] Have you been active in a school sports group or club?	“0” = No
“1” = Yes
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Squal1
	[T1] … felt that there were a variety of points of view being discussed.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Squal2	[T1] … observed conflicting opinions that brought up new ways of perceiving the issues in question.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Squal3	[T1] … seen real and/or everyday life problems being the focus of discussion.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
A_Squal4	[T1] … felt that participating was very important to me as a person.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Part5	[T2] Volunteered or worked for a social cause	1 = “No”;
2 = “Rarely”;
3 = “Sometimes”;
4 = “Often”;
5 = “Very often”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Part6	[T2] Participated in a concert or a charity event for a social or political cause	1 = “No”;
2 = “Rarely”;
3 = “Sometimes”;
4 = “Often”;
5 = “Very often”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Part7	 [T2] Donated money to a social cause	1 = “No”;
2 = “Rarely”;
3 = “Sometimes”;
4 = “Often”;
5 = “Very often”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polint1	[T2] How interested are you in politics?	1 = “Not at all”;
2 = “Hardly”;
3 = “Somewhat”;
4 = “Very”;
5 = “Extremely”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polint2	[T2] How interested are you in what is going on in society?	1 = “Not at all”;
2 = “Hardly”;
3 = “Somewhat”;
4 = “Very”;
5 = “Extremely”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polint3	[T2] How interested are you in European Union related topics?	1 = “Not at all”;
2 = “Hardly”;
3 = “Somewhat”;
4 = “Very”;
5 = “Extremely”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polint4	[T2] How interested are you in national politics?	1 = “Not at all”;
2 = “Hardly”;
3 = “Somewhat”;
4 = “Very”;
5 = “Extremely”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Itrust1	[T2] I trust the European Union.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Itrust2	[T2] I trust the national government.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polef3	[T2] I think that by working together, young people can change things for the better.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polef4	[T2] By working together, young people are able to influence the decisions which are made by government.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polef5	[T2] If I really tried, I could manage to actively work in organizations trying to solve problems in society.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polef6	[T2] If I really tried, I could manage to help to organize a political protest.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values	
B_Polef7	[T2] If I really tried, I could manage to take part in a demonstration in my home town.	1 = “Strongly disagree”;
2 = “Mostly disagree”;
3 = “Neither disagree nor agree”;
4 = “Mostly agree”;
5 = “Strongly agree”;
88; 99 = Missing values