Political socialization in the family and young people's educational achievement and ambition

Abstract

Using data from a large‐scale survey of Norwegian youth, the study examines the relationships that the performance in key academic subjects and aiming for higher education have with political socialization at home. The more often adolescents aged 13–16 talk with parents about politics and social issues, the better their performance is and the more often they aim for higher education. These relationships survive controls for, inter alia, parental level of education and other socio‐economic status indicators. The findings fit longstanding ideals in the philosophy of education. It is argued that a widened concept of ‘home background’ is needed in the sociology of education.

Keywords:

• educational achievement
• educational ambition
• political socialization
• family background
• social capital

Acknowledgements

To prepare this paper the author benefited from research facilities kindly arranged by Andy Green at the LLAKES Center at the University of London Institute of Education, and by Mark Bray at the UNESCO's International Institute of Educational Planning in Paris. Useful advice on statistical technique was given by Håvard Helland at Oslo University College, and by James Brown and Tareq Mostafa at the London Institute of Education. Bryony Hoskins and John Preston at the London institute provided useful references and comments on an early draft, as did Richard Niemi, University of Rochester, New York.

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