Abstract
Participation is important for the political education of democratic citizens. But perhaps the strongest factor that explains participatory differences among democratic citizens is the education variable (for example, academic-track/college-bound students are more democratic, participatory, and active). Along with sociodemographic and certain relevant high school variables, our study examines what happens inside schools (for example, extracurricular activities) to measure the effects of this informal education on students’ democratic beliefs. We also consider whether or not these beliefs affect patterns of community and political participation among young adults. In the study, we used data from the US National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, wherein the National Center for Education Statistics surveyed a representative national sample of all high school seniors. Five follow-up surveys were done. Based on the 1972 base-year survey and the 1974 and 1976 follow ups, our most important finding is that participation in high school activities significantly predicts the holding of democratic beliefs which, in turn, is related to patterns of political and community participation among young adults.
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© 1996 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Conway, M., Damico, S.B., Damico, A.J. (1996). Democratic Socialization in the Schools. In: Farnen, R.F., Dekker, H., Meyenberg, R., German, D.B. (eds) Democracy, Socialization and Conflicting Loyalties in East and West. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14059-6_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14059-6_21
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