An Empirical Test of the Relative Education Model in Sweden

Numerous studies show that education has a positive effect on political participation at the individual level. However, the increase in aggregate levels of education in most Western countries over the last decades has not resulted in a corresponding increase in aggregate levels of political participation. Nie et al. (Education and democratic citizenship in America, 1996) propose the relative education model as a possible solution to this paradox. According to this model, it is not the skills promoted by education that have positive effects on political participation. Rather, education influences individuals’ social status, which in turn influences political participation. The relative education model expects that the individual-level effect of an additional year of education will decrease as the mean level of education in the environment increases. This article evaluates this theory using Swedish election surveys (1985–2006) and it thus provides the first in depth evaluation of the relative education model outside the US. On voting and political participation related to political parties, support is found for the relative education model.     

Foreign aid and the politics of participation in economic policy reform

Research suggests that borrower ‘ownership’ of reforms is highly correlated with the success of reforms in developing countries. One of the most important components of ownership is the nature of public–private relations and consultation with interest groups. Yet participatory reform must overcome several political dilemmas, including problems of credibility, collective action, and distributive (in)justice. The characteristics of reforms also affect the possibilities for participation. Democratic governments interested in making policy reform more participatory and presumably more sustainable can draw on several strategies, including the selective use of incentives and compensation, public education and communications, capacity building in society, institutional mechanisms for consultation, and political sequencing of reforms. These strategies have implications for the foreign aid agencies who often fund reforms. They suggest that donors need to recognize the political rationality behind cross‐payments and spending to maintain important constituencies; that political sustainability may require reform sequences that are out of step with current orthodoxy; that policies ought to create winners before creating losers; that democratic consultation will require much more time in achieving consensus; and that outside actors need to refrain from intervening too directly in the political process by throwing their support behind particular interests. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅谈大学生思想政治教育中的美学元素

传统的以灌输为主的理性化大学生思想政治教育方法已不能满足教育的需要,久而久之它导致学生的学习兴趣不高,究其原因是我们忽视了那些本身存在于大学生思想政治教育中的美学元素,没有提升这些美学元素,更没有利用好这些美学元素来进行大学生思想政治教育,以致大学生思想政治教育的实效性受到了影响,因此发现并提升大学生思想政治教育中的美学元素至关重要。     

Does Type of Education Affect Political Participation? Results from a Panel Survey of Swedish Adolescents

In several countries it is apparent that individuals with academic gymnasium (upper‐secondary) education show significantly higher levels of political participation than individuals with vocational education. However, previous research on this issue draws exclusively on one‐shot cross‐sectional data. This article utilizes a Swedish panel survey to gauge whether there is a direct causal link between type of education and political participation. Results demonstrate that differences in political participation are already present when students enter different types of education. The analyses show no significant effects of education; instead results support the education‐as‐a‐proxy view: pre‐adult factors predict political participation as well as educational choice.     

When and why does education matter? Motivation and resource effects in political efficacy

Education increases political engagement because it bolsters motivations and cognition on the one hand, and relative resources on the other. However, personality traits have recently been found to partially confound the education effect. Focusing on internal and external political efficacy allows us to disentangle the different effects of education. It is argued in this article (a) that personal dispositions confound the cognitive and motivational effect of education, which is the predominant effect of education on internal efficacy, but not resource effects which are important for external but not internal efficacy; and (b) that resource effects are context‐dependent whereas cognitive and motivational effects are not. Accordingly, the article shows that the competitive context in which individuals find themselves conditions the effect of education on external, but not on internal, efficacy.     

Nonformal Education, Political Participation, and Democracy: Findings from Senegal

The relationship between nonformal education (NFE) and democracy has not been subject to empirical examination. Given the prominence that NFE has gained in many countries, such as those in Africa, this inattention is unfortunate. Using data from a survey involving a probability sample of 1484 Senegalese citizens, this paper examines the effects of education, both formal and nonformal, on political participation among rural Senegalese. The results indicate that NFE and formal education tend to have similar effects on several political behaviors, but the effect of NFE generally appears to be stronger. NFE has a positive impact on political participation. NFE increases the likelihood that one will vote and contact officials regarding community and personal problems. In addition, NFE has a strong, positive impact on community participation.Michelle T. Kuenzi, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Pkwy, Box 455029, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5029, USA (michele.kuenzi@ccmail.nevada.edu)     

Bildungsexpansion und Wandel des politischen Interesses in Westdeutschland zwischen 1980 und 2002

Interest in politics is a prerequisite for political participation and political engagement. The promotion of political engagement and education to politically mature citizens were basic concerns of educational reforms in the 1960s. This article focuses on the question if educational expansion has lead to a rise in political interest. To reproduce the change in political interest adequately, effects of education, age, period and cohort will be analyzed simultaneously. The data base of the empirical analyses is a cumulated data set consisting of the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) from 1980 to 2002. Results show that there is a robust effect of education: More highly educated people are more politically interested. Regarding educational expansion evidence suggests that it actually leads to a rise in political interest.     

Testing the Relationship Between Education and Political Participation Using the 1970 British Cohort Study

According to conventional wisdom in political behavior research, education has a direct causal effect on political participation. However, a number of recent studies have questioned this established view by arguing that education is not a direct cause of political participation but only a proxy for other factors that are not directly related to the educational experience. This paper engages in a current debate regarding the application of matching techniques to assess whether there is a direct causal effect of education on political participation. It uses data from a British cohort study that follows everyone born during 1 week in the UK in 1970. The data includes a rich set of variables measuring factors through childhood and adolescence such as cognitive ability and family socioeconomic status. This data provides the opportunity to match on a number of important variables that are not included in the US datasets used by previous studies in the field. Results show that after matching there are no significant effects of education on political participation.     

The Determinants of Political Knowledge in Comparative Perspective

Political knowledge is a powerful predictor of political participation. Moreover, what citizens know about the political system and its actors is a central aspect of informed voting. This article investigates how and why political knowledge varies between citizens. The analysis is comparative and based on data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. At the micro level, the results confirm results from national surveys – specifically that education explains what citizens know about politics. It is found in a contextualized analysis, however, that the effect of education varies with the country's degree of economic redistribution. In more egalitarian countries, political knowledge is less contingent on education attained than in more inegalitarian countries. Similarly, education seems to have a stronger effect in countries with majoritarian electoral systems compared to countries with proportional systems.     

民办学校思想政治教育的综述

近几年来,民办学校的思想政治教育的研究取得丰硕的成果,学者从不同的方面强调思想政治教育的重要性,对民办学校轻视思想政治教育的原因做了剖析,并从多方面提出加强民办学校思想政治教育的措施,同时也指出了存在一些不足。     

铸造忠诚警魂必须坚持德育为先——读《中国共产党教育理论与实践》有感

德育工作对人才培养发挥着方向性和导向性作用,是我国社会主义教育的灵魂。公安工作的特殊性决定了所需人才必须具有坚定的政治信念、良好的为人民服务的职业素养,这些都需要在公安院校经过系统的、完整的教育、教学过程来完成。公安高等院校要通过提高认识、转变观念、发挥思想政治理论课的主渠道作用、教师的言传身教、加强学生心理健康教育等几方面,贯彻"育人为本,德育为先"的理念,以铸造忠诚警魂为根本和学生全面发展为目标,促进公安高等教育健康发展。     

The Effect of Political Science Education on Political Trust and Interest: Results from a 5-year Panel Study

Citizenship education has evolved substantially in recent decades, with a rapid proliferation of education forms and approaches. The currently available evaluation studies, however, do not allow us to determine what kind of approach can be considered as a best practice for schools and education systems. In this article, we rely on the results of a 5-year panel study to investigate the long-term effects of various forms of citizenship education. Using the Belgian Political Panel Survey (n = 3,025), a three-wave longitudinal panel survey of 16-, 18- and 21-year-old Belgian late adolescents and young adults, we determine which citizenship education effort (i.e., classroom instruction, being a member of a school council, and an open-classroom climate) has a long-term effect on political trust and political interest. The results suggest that classroom instruction, the presence of an open-classroom climate, and being a member of a school board are positively related to political trust. We also find that classroom instruction and being a member of a school board are significantly associated with higher levels of political interest. We close with some observations on what these findings imply for citizenship education policies.     

Adult Education Policy Between Utopia and Fatalism: A Review Essay of Policy-related Literature

For the purpose of this review essay on international policy-related English language literature on adult education from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the following models of recent adult education policy options, aiming at social change and redistribution of power under varying conjunctures, have been constructed from the literature available: the revolutionary/transformational model, the humanist model, the rationalist economic model, the post-industrial society model, the new social movement model, and the welfare state model. These models are not exclusive—there may be others—nor are they to be forced into a chronological order. However, they may occur in an interconnected as well as in a dialectic sequence. Choice or application of any or a combination of these models have not brought about redistribution of knowledge or power. Whatever the philosophy, individualist or collective; whatever the approach, selective or campaign; whatever the economy, free market or centrally controlled; whatever the political system, capitalist or socialist; whatever the geographical region, developing or industrialized; indeed, whatever the conditions, the forces resisting an enduring redistributive effect seem to have capacities to reestablish or even reinforce hierarchies challenged by attempts at transformation.     

论高校学生思想政治教育中的“二元对立”及其超越

思想政治教育是促进高校学生全面发展的重要途径。在当代,随着中国社会转型期的到来,高校学生思想政治教育所处的环境发生了很大的变化,其中,有机遇也有挑战。直面高校学生思想政治教育中的困境、剖析背后的原因并在原有基础上实现超越,对于增进高校学生思想政治教育发展,增强高校学生思想政治教育的针对性、实效性有重大意义。     

论网络思想政治教育中自我教育的特点及启示

网络时代,网络带给思想政治教育的主体更强的主观能动性,自我教育成为网络思想政治教育的主要形式。这种新型的自我教育具有三大特点:自我教育者的自主性空前增强;意识形态的主导性与自我教育的自主性之间的矛盾深化发展;自我教育条件的自由与自我教育者自律的张力愈加紧张。网络思想政治教育中自我教育的特点给我们三点启示:树立网络思想政治教育以自我教育为核心的新理念;优化教育的内容和形式,保证社会主义意识形态的主导地位;强化自我教育者的自律精神,提高网络思想政治教育的实效性。     

浅议网络时代下思想政治教育载体的变化

随着现代科技的迅猛发展,网络正在改变着人类的生活方式、生产方式和教育方式,从前的思想政治教育的载体在新科技的影响下也发生着深刻的变化,内容包括、方式、范围等各个方面的变化,这些变化对于思想政治教育工作者,教育对象都是一个严峻的挑战,也直接影响着教育的质量,对于整个思想政治教育的效果及思想政治教育这门学科的发展都是至关重要的,认识到这些新变化和新规律,才能在现阶段适应社会的发展步伐,最大程度地发挥思想政治教育对社会发展所起的作用。     

Ideological reproduction

A study of the conditions under which parents reproduce their political ideologies in their adolescent children, conducted in Israel, shows that (1) parents do reproduce their political outlooks, (2) there is a greater likelihood that hawkish parents will have like-minded children than dovish ones, and (3) whereas the reproduction of doves is dependent on higher education, hawks reproduce regardless of their level of education, authoritarianism, or religiosity. The data are from 400 parent/child interviews. Cohort and intrafamily analysis are used to explain the change from generation to generation and the continuity and change within families. Clues to the tendency to move right are discerned in (1) the relative hawkishness of parents of 18-year-olds who are about to begin their army service, (2) the relative complexity of the dovish position, (3) the continuous Israeli-Arab conflict into which Israeli adolescents are born, and (4) the rise of the ideology advocating Israel's right to the territories conquered in 1967.The study of ideological continuity between generations and within families is part of a project that examines the negotiation of political identity of adolescents through the interaction of family, television, and peers (Liebes, 1987), sponsored by the Spencer Foundation.     

借助网络有效开展大学生思想政治教育

网络正在向大学渗透,正对大学生的学习和生活产生着广泛而深刻的影响,借助网络开展大学生思想政治教育是时代的选择,我们要通过完善校园网络教育体系,以及加大校园网络监控力度,来有效开展大学生思想政治教育。     

加强高校隐性思想政治教育研究的现实依据

借鉴西方成熟的隐性思想政治教育资源,加强高校隐性思想政治教育研究,是应对全球化挑战的现实课题和紧迫的历史任务,是思想政治教育改革的必然选择,是我国思想政治教育学发展完善的必然要求。