Democratic Values and Pre-Adult Virtues: Tolerance, Knowledge and Participation.

Two political socialization issues were explored for 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old youth. The first issue was the extent to which there is a general orientation among American youth toward tolerance. The second issue was the relationship of tolerance among youth to political knowledge and orientation to political participation. A major objective of the study was to add information based on a national sample to the profile of political orientations of American youth. The inquiry was based on secondary analysis of 1976 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data. From 1,800 to 2,000 youth in each age group were asked questions about tolerance attitudes, including should women run for public office? should atheists be allowed to vote? and should citizens be allowed to criticize the government? Youth in the nine-year-old group were asked simple picture-related questions of a similar nature. Statistical analysis of responses for all age groups indicated that there is modestly strong lip service given to general principles of equity and tolerance of diversity but severely constrained application of these general rules to both specific groups and activities. Questions asked at each age level are included and tables are presented which detail responses to specific questions within each age group. (DB) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Secondary Analyses).