The political socialisation of youth : a comparison of private and state educated girls.

The research explores the political socialisation of young females. Politics is
defined broadly as the perception of patterns of human relationships,
incorporating socio-economic concepts. Two elements of socialisation are
identified which inform both theory and research design. First, political
socialisation content is explored, operationalised in terms of political
attitudes. Second, political socialisation process is explored, operationalised
in terms of history of political exploration and the making of political
commitments (derived from concepts of adolescent identity development
described by Erikson and Marcia). The role of socialising agents is discussed,
the study focussing of the role of school experience in political socialisation.
An empirical study is reported which explored the role of school experience in
political socialisation, operationalised in a comparison of girls attending
private and state sector schools. Questionnaires were completed by 181 girls
aged 15-18 in the two types of school. Individual interviews were conducted
with 127 of this group (67 private, 60 state) from comparable social
backgrounds. The aim was to compare girls matched for family background
but experiencing different types of educational structure. The interviews
explored attitudes to a range of political and socio-economic phenomena (the
content of political socialisation), and history of political exploration and
commitment (the process of political socialisation). The process dimension
was based on the identity categories of achievement, foreclosure, moratorium
and diffusion described by Marcia. Significant differences between the two
school samples are reported for both the content and process of political
socialisation. Factors in the school experience which might lead to these
differences are described. The implications of the results are discussed in
relation to theories of political socialisation, and education theory and policy.