Rancorous dialogue among political opponents is nothing new in the American political system. However, in the past two decades or so, pundits and scholars have noted an increase in the overall intensity and frequency of incivility among elected officials and citizens. At the collegiate level, many universities have undertaken some form of civility…

The present study shed light on the continuing debate among students of political socialisation regarding the effects of civic education on the upholding of democratic attitudes. Our major conclusion is that civic education, in and of itself, has only minor effects on democratic attitudes of pupils. Furthermore, among pupils who attended civic…

This volume reports on a study undertaken to determine views of college students themselves on civic life and politics and also follows four related studies and action research projects on the relationship between citizens and the political process. The central study was a series of 10 campus discussions in the focus group format, with college…

Many studies have reported gaps between Latino and non-Latino adolescents in academic and political outcomes. The current study presents possible explanations for such gaps, both at the individual and school level. Hierarchical linear modeling is employed to examine data from 2,811 American ninth graders (approximately 14 years of age) who had…

Traditionally, civic education has been introduced at the eighth grade level. Research indicates that youngsters begin learning political information and attitudes much earlier. With that in mind, this publication is designed around concepts that can be developed throughout the primary and intermediate grades. Elementary students can begin to…

A broad survey of democratic political attitudes of United States and West German students was developed jointly by the Governmental Education Division of the Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia and the Bundeszentrale fur politische Bildung in Bonn. This survey sought to probe twelfth-year students' attitudes toward…

The objectives of this Conference included an examination of new approaches to citizenship education and an evaluation of the teaching materials produced by the Charles P. Schwartz Citizenship Project (CPSCP), and an examination of the attitudinal studies on citizenship values conducted under the auspices of CPSCP. Major sections of the Report…

This paper examines four major research studies spanning approximately 45 years which provide solid evidence that democratic schooling is possible and is an extremely important factor in the education of young citizens for a democratic society. The objectives, methodology, limitations, and results of each study are examined. From the studies, the…

Surveys of Polish teachers who volunteered to introduce civic education about democracy, along with parents, and students aged 13-14 examined individual-level support for democracy and a market economy in relation to three psychological dimensions widely thought to affect political and economic attitudes: valuing of self-direction, authoritarian…

Two political socialization issues were explored for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old youth. The first issue was the extent to which there is a general orientation among American youth toward tolerance. The second issue was the relationship of tolerance among youth to political knowledge and orientation to political participation. A major objective of the…

A survey designed to ascertain how various school-related groups perceive the school responding to nontraditional situations of nationalistic education is described. Administrators, board of education members, parents, teachers, and students indicated what they thought would and should occur in the school in response to 18 nontraditional…

Democracy entails the concept of orderly liberty, a concept that implies both obedience and constructive skepticism. Since teaching youngsters to be democratic citizens is a central concern of civic education, we must be concerned about whether our youth acquire this concept of orderly liberty. Studies indicate that American youth tend to value…

This report is an evaluation of the American Values Program described in SO 000 042. It was hypothesized that pupils in the project schools would make greater gains in their knowledge of government processes and greater gains in democratic attitudes than "comparable pupils in the control schools." The 120 subjects were randomly selected…

The theoretical model upon which this study is based indicates that a person's degree of politication and political efficacy depend upon: a) each other; b) where that person falls on socioeconomic and education scales; c) sex; and, d) race. A person's degree of belligerance (extent of reliance on force, threats, power, etc.) depends similarly on…

Analyzes the results of sociological surveys conducted among thousands of students in higher education institutions in Russia and other republics of the former Soviet Union. Compares and contrasts student attitudes about such topics as economics, democratic values, ethnic groups, education, and students' perception of the future. (CFR)