Political Efficacy and Expected Political Participation among Lower and Upper Secondary Students

The process of political socialisation of adolescents includes more than the acquisition of knowledge about society, citizenship and the political system. In a democracy, citizens are expected to participate actively in the political process. Active participation, however, requires citizens to believe in their own ability to influence the course of politics, in other words, to feel politically efficacious. Therefore, enhancing control beliefs and the willingness to act politically could be viewed as important areas of civic and citizenship education. This paper examines changes in levels and relationships regarding efficacy and expected participation using data from students at different stages of political socialisation. It uses data collected during the two surveys of the IEA and comprises two age groups: 14-year-old lower secondary students (grade 8 or 9) and upper secondary students (grade 11 or 12). The concept of political efficacy has played a prominent role in studies on political behaviour and political socialisation. Political efficacy is the " feeling that political and social change is possible and that the individual citizen can play a part in bringing about this change " High levels of efficacy among citizens are usually viewed as desirable for the stability of democracy, because " in the modern democratic society, citizens should feel that they have some power to influence the actions of their government " (Wright, 1981, p. 69). Citizens who are confident about having this power are more likely to support the democratic system. David Easton (1965) integrated the construct of political efficacy into his theoretical concept of political support, though questions have been raised regarding the compatibility of this approach. In the process of political socialisation during childhood and adolescence, acquisition of political efficacy is often seen as crucial for future participation as an active citizen in a democracy. Not surprisingly, the construct has received a lot of attention in studies on the political socialisation of Studies have demonstrated the feasibility of measuring this construct among children and adolescents. Analyses of the four (later six) SRC (Social Research Centre) items used to measure political efficacy in the studies of the Ann Arbor Group soon revealed a two-dimensional structure of political efficacy: Internal efficacy can be defined as the confidence of the individual in his or her own abilities to understand politics and to act politically, whereas external efficacy constitutes the individual's belief in the responsiveness of the political system (see Converse, 1972; Balch, 1974). …