At what ages are young people most open to political influence? We test the "formative years" model that underscores the importance of childhood experiences for political development against the "impressionable years" model that asserts the primacy of lessons learned during adolescence. To assess the relative merits of these…

The idea of one shared past, can develop identity-building potential. Nevertheless, there are diverse memory practices in plural societies and they are an expression of shared, divided, and conflicting memories. The negotiations of (diverse) past(s) and memories and, consequently, related belonging(s) to so-called 'remembrance communities' take…

This study explores the integration of military themes and Nazi ideology within the "Mathematisches Arbeits- Und Lehrbuch" textbook series, which was a prominent tool in Nazi Germany for embedding National Socialist principles in mathematics education. Authored by Otto Zoll, a Nazi Party member, these textbooks were strategically…

This article is based on an analysis of the treatment of the European Union in a sample of textbooks from Germany and England. Following contextual remarks about civic education (politische Bildung) in Germany and citizenship education in England and a review of young people's views, we demonstrate that textbooks in Germany and in England largely…

Recent political socialisation research focuses almost exclusively on the orientations of adolescents, even though the literature seems to agree on the assumption that politically relevant orientations and attitudes are acquired much earlier in the life span. This article argues that it is essential to look at the beginning of socialisation if we…

More and more programs of citizenship education in Germany (and other countries) tend to advance democratic citizenship through social learning in communities. A strong emphasis is put on social engagement to get young people involved in politics as well as to teach them participation. A qualitative analysis of selected German social learning…

Insights into the civic education classroom can be gained through "videographic documentation". Videographic material offers, as I argue in this article, great possibilities: Through a "reconstructive approach" insights into dimensions of civic education such as spatial organisation, symbolic representation and non-verbal…

Whilst much has been written on the role and function of the elite schools in Hitler's vision for his "thousand-year Reich," this article focuses on an area within the history of the Ordensburgen that has not been examined -- that is, the content of training for particular groups given at these elite educational institutions during the…

The literature on political socialization has overlooked the influence of system characteristics of schooling on civic values and youth political identities. This article addresses that gap by investigating the degree to which system differentiation relates to the values of ethnic tolerance and patriotism. We distinguish between pedagogical…

This article deals with the nexus between biographical experiences in political extraordinary times of crisis, disaster and terror and their influence on political orientations. At the centre of interest is the reconstruction of political orientations related to two different historical-political groups of Jewish Germans who had immigrated or…

This article deals with mass media in modern democratic societies, using the example of Israeli news reports in German television (TV) news. Central to this interest are processes of mediating politics: political socialisation and education; that is to say, empowering citizens via TV news to participate in democratic processes. The article…

The authors examined the confidence of teachers from Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, and the United States (N = 1,375) to address civic topics with their students. The authors also used differential item functioning models to examine responses to items from the Teacher Confidence Scale of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational…

As they did with all mass media, the Nazis used music as a propaganda tool to mold popular feelings. This article traces the Nazi takeover of German music in the 1930s and its use of broadcast music during World War II. (One of three articles on music in the 1930s.) (SJL)

Examines the theory that pre-Hitler Nazism was part of a generational revolt. Research shows that, among new recruits to the National Socialist German Workers Party in that period, there were more than twice as many who were under 30 years old. Socioeconomic and historical factors which made Nazism attractive to German youth are discussed. (AM)

Dewey's ideas of democracy and pragmatism clashed with the monarchial and idealistic patterns of school-practice and pedagogic theory in pre- and post-World War II Germany. Acceptance of Dewey's work was hindered by counterproductive politico-educational interpretations of source material compounded with a lack of hermeneutic assessment of his…