The Political Socialization of Attitudes Toward Equal Rights from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Lack of tolerance toward traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as immigrants, ethnic minorities and women, represents a growing challenge to contemporary democracies. Assuming that attitudes toward such social groups are at least partly learned during the political socialization of school-age children, this chapter explores individual differences in equal rights attitudes using data from the last International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2009 on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of eighth grade students from 38 countries. Using structural equations and multilevel models, the analysis estimates regression models using a set of measures, with family status being the main independent variable. The results show that there are large differences across countries regarding the level of inclusive attitudes, and that parental education and the number of books at home are relevant predictors of more inclusive attitudes of children in most of the countries analyzed; however, patterns differ by gender and immigrant groups. The findings are discussed, taking into account current and future political issues associated with migration and demands for equal rights.