Suchergebnisse

Our research on political socialisation of children in Belgium between 12 and 14 years old (sample size : 372) by the technique of Annick Percheron, reveals a great deal of hostility towards the political system. The children were asked to judge of a number of political words. They dislike politicians, the political regime and even the basic democratic principles and institutions. Most children do not make any difference between political theory, but they react even more negatively towards politicians and are also less conservative. The difference in political knowledge and attitudes between boys and girls seems negligible. Children, who belong to the upper middle class, have the best political knowledge, working class children the worst. The latter show great aversion towards the political system, and also towards trade-unions and social action. In generalthey react in a conservative way.

To investigate the attitudes of Flemish secondary school students toward politics, interview data were collected (N = 242 Ms & 130 Fs, aged 12-14) in 1981, using the method employed in a French study by Annick Percheron (L'Univers politique des enfants [The Political Environment of Children], Paris, 1974). Analysis of the data reveals that most of the children bear considerable hostility toward the political system. When asked to explain their attitudes toward 18 political concepts (eg, "democracy," "communism") most of the Rs gave equally negative opinions for theories on both ends of the political spectrum. Reactions toward specific politicians were even more negative. Little difference was noted between the attitudes or knowledge of boys & girls. UMc Rs had the highest level of knowledge, while Wc Rs had the lowest. Surprisingly, Wc Rs showed hostility toward unions & tended to have conservative political opinions. 9 Tables, 4 Figures. Modified HA.