Political Socialization in International Perspective

E way in which the schools relate to the political system is through the political socialization of children and youth. 1 The schools the curriculum, the textbooks, the instructional methods, the school clubs, the classroom milieu, the students, the teach ers, the administrative structure, and the like may implicitly or explicitly engage in the transmission of basic political orientations toward the environment. These orientations can be (a) cognitive (for example, ability to analyze and interpret data about political institutions or behavior), (b) affective (for example, the development of positive or nega tive attitudes toward the symbols of author ity), or (c) evaluative (for example, judg ments based on application of certain stand ards to the performance of political roles). The kinds of political orientations children develop determine to a large extent the type of political culture that will prevail. Basic political orientations are formed very early in life, especially between the ages of 3 and 13, and unless a very powerful environment impinges upon the individual, he tends to remain with the same orientations through out his life cycle. Cultures in which there is a relatively high degree of citizen involvement (civic cultures) generally have people who view