Political science students learn the fundamental principles and values about the American political system from American government/politics textbooks. Most of the major textbooks used in these courses utilize the traditional institutional and behavioral approaches to the study of American government and politics, which examines institutions and…

Reviews seven studies of former student activists to determine if they maintain political beliefs and behaviors consistent with those they exhibited during their participation in the earlier social movements. Explores the question of what accounts for the maintenance of, or change in, beliefs and behaviors over time. (CMG)

A course of direction is charted for the anti-nuclear movement. Concern over the growing nuclear arsenals has grown considerably over the last two years for several reasons, including the educational efforts of several anti-nuclear groups, and the publication of several books, such as Jonathan Schell's "The Fate of the Earth." Until now,…

Although education, as an activity mandated, sponsored, and supervised by the capitalist state, is as much an apparatus of the state as any other state agency, it is far more democratic, open to change and innovation, and subject to potential community control than any other state apparatus. To understand education's function in a capitalist…

Uses examples from China and Iran to demonstrate that governments use education to mold people's beliefs about human development to fit rulers' political rationale. Discusses Marxist attempts to alter Confucian and Taoist notions about human nature, and the shahs' attempts to change traditional Shiite views of women. Offers seven general…

Profiles current Russian research on political culture and values. Reports on a study of the spread of materialist and postmaterialist values among nearly 6,000 Russians between 1984 and 1993. Discusses the social and demographic variables that exert the greatest influence on the spread of values. (CFR)

Described are two longitudinal studies, one British, the other American, which examined the influences of varied socializing agents--e.g., family, school, peer groups--on voting behavior. The studies emphasized the hitherto unappreciated importance of the political, social, and economic climate of society and its changes on socialization. (CS)

This paper explores the impact of the hidden curriculum on students. The hidden curriculum refers to the social relations and school climate of the schools. Two theories are presented as the basis for studying the relationship between school climate and students' social beliefs and actions. The generalization theory states that students view the…