POLITICAL ATTITUDES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: EFFECTS OF GRADE,GENDER AND ABILITY

Abstract

The influence of three variables on political attitudes of secondary school students at two surburban-rural high schools was investigated. Ability, grade level, and gender were examined to determine their influence on attitudes cited by educators as essential to the development of good citizenship. Three attitude measurement scales were administered to a random sample of 180 ninth and twelfth grade adolescents. Significant findings were reported using a multivariate analysis of variance. One three-way and three two-way interactions were tested. Only one interaction (ability by grade) was significant at the .05 level. It was concluded that higher grade and ability level students exhibit lower dogmatism. Females scored higher than males in their support of the freedoms in the Bill of Rights, and in their support of law and government officials.

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