This paper illustrates three different, but interrelated approaches to investigating the role of formal schooling in the political learning process from survey data. The assumption is made that the formation of students' political beliefs are affected by factors which are both internal and external to the school setting. Data from which illustrations in this paper are derived were collected in two of the West German states from a sample of pre-university students across the entire range of pre-collegiate educational institutions, both general and vocational. Measurements of dissent toleration are used to illustrate various approaches to identifying the role of school-related factors in the formation of such political attitudes. The study includes data on attitudinal correlates of enrollment in different types of schools, on the relationship between the frequency with which controversial issues are discussed in class and the level of dissent toleration, and on student activism as a socializing influence. (Author/SHM)