Change in High School Students’ Political Attitudes as a Function of Social Studies Classroom Climate

Abstract

A longitudinal design included 339 students from nine schools who responded to questionnaires from their sophomore to senior years from 1974–76. Using multivariate analysis of variance, it was shown that the extent to which students perceived open social studies classroom climates over this period was related to increases in political trust, integration, and interest, but a decrease in sense of political confidence.