| The school provides the first opportunity for children to interact with a government institution. Combined with family, religion, and the media, high school courses in American Government socialize students to perpetuate the political system. Courses teach students the fundamentals of government structure, and encourage them to understand and participate in politics. How a person feels about whether he can influence the government, or whether the government responds to his demands, is of critical importance in predicting political behavior and determining good citizenship.; Maryland is the only state in the country that uses a standardized functional test to measure "competence" in citizenship education, and makes passing the American Government course and the Citizenship Test a requirement for graduation. If the deliberate structuring of the curriculum, and the existence of the Citizenship Test does not have a positive effect on the efficacy and attitudes of students, then it is likely that the goal of politically socializing youth through curricula throughout the country is not being met, or cannot be met.; This study utilizes a two-wave panel design of a sample consisting of 141 student/parent pairs at Glen Burnie High School, in Glen Burnie Maryland Students and parents completed surveys containing both closed and open-ended questions measuring efficacy and democratic attitudes before and after students were enrolled in the required ninth grade American Government course.; The determinants of student efficacy include the pre-course efficacy, level of parent education and efficacy, time spent discussing politics in the home, student performance on the Maryland Functional Citizenship Test, level of attention the student pays to current events, and choice of news source.; Bivariate and multiple regression analysis test the role of parental influence and the effects of the course on increasing student efficacy. Prior to taking the American Government course, students displayed a lack of knowledge, and low levels of efficacy. After taking the American Government course, students displayed a greater understanding of the political process, and higher levels of efficacy. The findings serve to address general questions about political socialization through citizenship education, and the role of parent attitudes in influencing the development of adolescent efficacy. |
