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This article focuses on the role theory in political socialization. In reviewing the existing political socialization literature in relation to its use of learning theory, researchers have come to the conclusion that this criticism is in many cases unjustified. Explicit in some and implicit in most political socialization studies are various assumptions of role theory, which researchers view in this paper as a special type of learning theory. Thus, the major premise of this article can be directly stated some of the problems encountered in previous political socialization studies stem not so much from a lack of theory as from a misuse of role theory in investigating and explaining political phenomenon. In making a comparative study of the acquisition and development of the political orientations of English-Canadian and American school children (grades 4-8) in Belleville, Ontario and Watertown, New York, researchers found on many standard indicators utilized in the political socialization area a discrepancy between the data and previously published research.

The article offers information on the Canadian general election of 1984. It states that the 1984 Canadian general election was critical in determining the electoral choice of a great number of Canadian voters. In this political exercise, the normal majority party, the Liberals, suffered their worst performance in the electoral process since Confederation. Relative to this, while the Liberal caucus was annihilated, dropping 107 seats and retaining only 40, the Progressive Conservatives doubled their representation from 103 to 211. The political developments from 1980-1984 which prelude the 1984 elections were underscored.