Among the many demands made on secondary schools, none is more important than that of civic education. It has been said that "the wholesome development of the secondary school student cannot be considered aside from the school's obligation to train for American democracy." The American school exists to support the individual and the American way…

This paper reports on the results of an ongoing large-scale nationally representative sample of college students, which provides time series data on attitudes for a broad array of issues. A representative sample of between 250,000 and 350,000 freshmen, entering more than 300 institutions throughout the nation, was surveyed each fall (1967-1974) by…

This study uses national survey data to compare newspapers and television for informativeness. Relationships are reported between media use and having reasons for liking or disliking candidates for the U.S. Senate, a variable used to measure level of information. Results demonstrate an informing role for newspapers but not for television. Analysis…

This paper examines the political behavior of local school boards in terms of two models of political governance. The first model discussed is the "sacred vs. secular" model that distinguishes between "sacred" governing bodies that reach consensus in private and generally support the sociocultural status quo and…

Until the end of the 19th century there were basically two traditions in American universities, all of which, for practical purposes, were private, nonprofit institutions. The first and unquestionably more important of these traditions was that of the church-related college. The second great tradition was the notion of elitist, liberal education.…

Annually, during orientation, a questionnaire prepared by the American Council on Education is administered to the entering freshmen class at the University of South Carolina. (This questionnaire also is administered at approximately 75 two-year colleges, 245 four-year colleges, and 44 universities across the U.S.) The data collected on the…

The principal papers read at the ninth conference in a series of Biennial Atlantic Study Conferences on Education, which was organized at the University of Bordeaux at Talence to benefit those concerned with the teaching of world affairs and social science in the secondary schools of the Western world, are included in this report. Titles of papers…

An emerging consensus is that investigations of media effects should focus on the most basic political function of the media. Attempting to move out of the usual modes of conceptualization and analysis, this paper concentrates on three major points: the reconceptualization of political knowledge to encompass the respondent's subjective…

The objective of this study is to provide local law enforcement agencies with guidelines for the collection and dissemination of elements of information required for sound decision making in response to the threat or actual initiation of collective violence. Informal, semi-structured interviews in fourteen selected cities and six State police…

This nationwide survey was designed specifically to ascertain student and faculty attitudes toward free enterprise, the free market philosophy, and government intervention. A total of 39,705 survey forms were received by students and faculty members around the country; 14,098 of these were returned for a response rate of 35.15%. Results indicated…

This paper discusses ideologues, both of the far Left and the far Right, and their influences on the American political structure and our "traditional pluralistic politics," which is defined as the concept traditionally held in this country that politics function within a clash of interests, sectional and group, and that political…

Four general hypotheses concerning the sources of university students' political attitudes are presented and evaluated in this paper. A cross-sectional survey of American male Harvard University graduate students was conducted with a questionnaire dealing with attitudes toward United States involvement in Vietnam. Responses were analyzed by…

This study replicates earlier research on student activism, but within the context of a non-elite and relatively apolitical university campus, namely, Bowling Green University. A basic finding of the earlier research is that student activists represent an extension of parental values rather than a generational rebellion. This paper tests the…

This paper reports the author's research on the relative impact of various communication structures, particularly the mass media, on the formation of attitudes regarding war and peace, and the relationship of these source ratings to age and sex. The sample consisted of 611 randomly selected public school students from grades 5, 7, 10, and 12 in…

The Commission for Youth Involvement was formed to examine existing programs and recommend better methods to facilitate youth participation in state and community affairs. The commission studied education, social problems, State government, community government, the present political system, and youth and the law. Recommendations included: (1)…