This research examined correlates of political efficacy in children of different national and ethnic backgrounds. It was hypothesized that children who participate in family and school decision-making which affects them would be more efficacious than children with little or no participation in family and school decision-making. It was also hypothesized that participation in family and school decision-making would vary with social status and ethnic background. The children studied were mostly sixth graders, and of 11-12 years of age. Children of Anglo, Mexican-American, and Mexican backgrounds were administered written questionnaires in their classrooms. The classes tested were drawn from nine schools which were a mixture of public and private in each country. Five schools in El Paso, Texas, and four in Juarez, Mexico, were selected, by reputation, to represent lower, middle, and upper middle classes in each country. An attempt was also made to obtain a sample which would adequately represent each national and ethnic group within each category of socioeconomic status. Family decision-making patterns did, in fact, correlate with differences in socioeconomic status and ethnic background in both the U.S. and Mexico. Middle and upper status children were more likely to participate in family decision-making than were low status children. Of the middle and upper status children, however, middle status children were somewhat more likely to participate in family decision-making than upper status children and this was true both in the U.S. and Mexico. Anglos were more likely to participate than were Mexican-Americans and Mexicans. Regression suggests, however, that when socioeconomic status is controlled for, that ethnic background is no longer relevant to this question in the U.S. In Mexico, some Mexican children also responded to the categories Anglo or Mexican-American, instead of Mexican, and it was determined that these responses, in the border environment, indicated an acculturation to "mainstream" U.S. patterns. Significant differences exist in Mexico between children who call themselves Anglo, for example, and those who call themselves Mexican in regard to participation in family decision-making. The children tested in the U.S. report widely different patterns of school participation, which correlate with socioeconomic status. In Mexico, however, children uniformly report moderately participant school environments. Regression indicates that school decision-making patterns vary directly with family decision-making patterns. In each country, the only significant predictor of school decision-making is family decision-making patterns. School decision-making, in turn, correlates at a moderate level with efficacy in each country. Regression indicates, however, that school decision-making has a somewhat different role in the two countries. In the U.S., regression shows family decision-making as the primary, significant predictor of efficacy whereas regression for Mexico shows school decision-making as the primary, significant predictor of efficacy. The basic hypotheses are thus confirmed, with some modifications for each country. In the U.S., family decision-making correlates most strongly with social status. In Mexico, ethnic background responses seem to reflect acculturation to "mainstream" U.S. patterns just across the border and are the strongest correlate of family decision-making patterns. In both countries, the only significant predictor of school decision-making patterns are family decision-making patterns. School decision-making patterns, in turn, correlate with efficacy. Regression, however, indicates that in the U.S., it is the family decision-making patterns which are significant in predicting efficacy whereas in Mexico it is the school decision-making patterns which are most significant in predicting efficacy.

Throughout the history of the United States (U.S.), there have been service members who, upon leaving the service, have spoken out against U.S. involvement in wars. The current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and their increasing unpopularity, have contributed to this trend. Recently veterans have begun to come forward in larger numbers to speak out against the current wars and have self-identified as members of peace movements. The purpose of this research project was to explore veterans' understandings of the peace movement and their involvement in veterans' peace movement organizations. This study hoped to answer the following questions: 1) How does a veteran understand the current peace movement? 2) Which, if any, parts of the current peace movement does a veteran find to be in line with his or her own values? 3) What do veterans feel it means to be a veteran for peace? 4) How do veterans come to identify with the current peace movement? 5) How do veterans take a stand against the current peace movement? 6) What do veterans feel is gained by involvement in the peace movement? The study was conducted using a qualitative approach, and 27 interviews were conducted either face-to-face or over the phone with U.S. veterans from across the country, who have served since the Vietnam War. Veterans who were no longer serving in an active duty capacity were selected via a snowball sample of the researcher's circle of military colleagues and friends around the U.S. The identity of "veteran in the peace movement" is a complicated one, and the result of a long, complex, series of lived experiences. This study let participants describe the process of identity acquisition, or rejection in their own words in order to create a realistic and honest narrative about the emotional and mental processes, and life events that trigger or influence these, that influenced identification or not with a veterans' peace movement organization.

Previous studies in child language socialization have adopted the approach of studying how children become competent members of their social groups through the use of language. This study began as an attempt to study child language socialization within selected Tucson U.S. Mexican households within this prevailing paradigm. During the course of fieldwork, it was found that the complexities of Borderlands structural and hegemonic relationships could not be adequately addressed within a theoretical assumption of homeostatic and monosemic communities. The ambiguities of "Mexican-ness" do not provide a consensually agreed upon or collectively implicit framework for language socialization. Instead, fluid domains are contested and negotiated as language socialization is construed as a constitutive process of "selfhood" for the child. Rather than replicating and reproducing previously transmitted information, certain parents and caregivers were found to actively engage in constructing an ethos for their own childhood experiences. Multivocality within multiple interactive spheres was identified as parents and caregivers often alternated between symbolic resistance and opposition, and accomodation. Additionally, an affective base for language socialization is postulated. An "emotion of minority status" that is structurally constituted and embedded within regional hegemonic relations is presented as a formative backdrop for children in this population. The essential methodology involved lengthy ethnographic observations coupled with audiocassette recordings of naturally occurring speech. Caregivers were supplied with tape recorders and cassettes and were asked to record interaction within the households, specifically at mealtime, bed time and homework sessions. In-depth open-ended interviews were taped with parents, and in some cases, grandparents, regarding their own perceptions of child-rearing, language habits, and value orientations. Extensive household histories, detailing residential, labor and family history, were also collected.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-44). / viii, 60 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

The relationship between parenting style and political socialization was examined in 258 college students with an average age of 19.6. Political socialization approaches along with Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man comprised the theoretical framework in this study. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationships between maternal and paternal parenting style, political party affiliation, attitude to authority, political conservatism (racial/social conservatism, religious fundamentalism, and punitiveness), and political identity. Results indicated that high levels of maternal acceptance were related to a conservative political party affiliation, high scoring on overall political conservatism, and high levels of religious fundamentalism. High levels of maternal psychological control were linked to a conservative political party affiliation, pro-attitudes to authority, high levels of overall political conservatism, and higher punitiveness. High levels of paternal firm control were related to political identity achievement. / Master of Science

The purpose of this research was twofold; a quantitative examination of male socialization patterns along with an assessment of change over time in male socialization experiences. Men born in the 1950s and men born in the 1970s were compared to obtain an understanding of male socialization processes and possible changes since feminist issues have become a prevalent source of discourse in society. A survey questionnaire was utilized with a modified snowball sampling technique to explore male socialization experience. One hundred and one men participated in the project. Socialization experience for the men in this sample was five dimensional and while certain dimensions revealed change over time, others remained static. Findings indicate that quantitative measures can be successfully employed to study socialization processes.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how pre-tenure female faculty members perceived their socialization experiences into the culture of higher education. This study viewed higher education as a distinct culture where members underwent socialization processes such as enculturation and acculturation throughout the pre-tenure years. Participants were eight pre-tenure female faculty members from Midwestern land grant institutions. Women were interviewed for 90-120 minutes on one occasion. Data was analyzed using the Constant Comparative Method (CCM).The women's perceptions resulted in four emergent themes: Balance, Place, Support, and Trust. Balance contained the themes of Workload, including promotion and tenure and time, and Roles, including sub-themes of personal and professional roles. Place described women's feelings of fit regarding age, sex, their student response and their personal response to their culture. Support highlighted people, groups and mentoring perceived as influential in their socialization. Lastly, the theme of Trust emerged as a key element of their cultural understanding regarding higher education. These pre-tenure female faculty members perceived socialization as filled with incongruency, uncertainty and rejection, and political astuteness. The women felt incongruence in terms of their personal values and those values rewarded professionally. The women's socialization was shaped by uncertainty in the promotion and tenure process and in where to put their time and energy. In addition, the women described the need for political astuteness in their professional communications and actions during their pre-tenure years. These perceptions werefurther examined through post-colonial feminist theory. The emphasis post-colonial feminist theory places on power and voice in the historically male-dominated system of higher education informed the analysis. This led to the argument for Boyer's (1990) reconstruction of scholarship as an opportunity for women to become co-creators of an environment which better promotes congruency between their personal values with elements evaluated for professional success.Embracing Boyer's (1990) concepts for re-conceptualizing scholarship may offer a potential solution which would allow the women to experience more integrated lives instead of disparate circles of personal and professional activity. Integrated lives would ease their adjustment in these pivotal pre-tenure years. / Department of Educational Studies

A mail survey of Nigerian immigrants in Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois, was conducted during October and November 1995. Four hundred and sixty-eight Nigerian immigrant families in the two cities were selected by systematic sampling through the telephone books. Return rate was approximately 40% (187). The variables included in the study were media exposure variables, general demographics, immigration traits, U.S. demographics, Nigerian demographics, and political and cultural traits. New variables which had not been included in previous studies were also tested in this study: television talk shows, talk radio, diffuse support for the U.S. political system, authoritarianism, self-esteem, and political participation. This study employed multiple regression analysis and path analysis of the data. This study found that Nigerian immigrants have high preference for television news as their main source of political information. This finding is in consonance with previous studies. Nigerian immigrants chose ABC news stations as their number one news station for political information. Strong positive associations existed between media exposure and length of stay in the United States and interest in U.S. politics. Talk radio positively associated with interest in U.S. politics and negatively associated with length of stay in the United States. Thus, this finding likely means that talk radio is a good source of political socialization for more recently arrived immigrants and those interested in U.S. politics. Significant associations existed between diffuse support for the U.S. government and interest in politics and security of immigration status. This study also found that adjustment to U.S. political culture was a function of media exposure, pre-immigration social class, diffuse support for the U.S. political system, and political knowledge.

This study investigated the influence of three variables on current political attitudes of secondary school adolescents at two suburban-rural high schools in the northern Virginia area. Ability, grade level, and sex were examined to determine their influence on attitude measures essential to the develoµnent of citizenship within the social studies curriculum. The Freedans Scale, Law Scale and Dogmatism Field Scale were administered to a random sample of 180 ninth and twelfth grade adolescents which was equally divided between male and female subjects. The sample was further divided by ability levels (low, average, and high) which were selected by SRA subtest scores in reading, math, language arts, and educational ability. Significant findings were discerned using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and chi-square analysis. Group and individual differences were examined for each of the independent variables studied as they affected the dependent measures of political attitudes. One three-way and three two-way interactions were tested using the MANOVA. Only one interaction (ability by grade) was significant at the .05 level on the Dogmatism Scale. It was concluded that an increase in grade and ability levels effect lower scores on the Dogmatism Field Scale. Lower dogmatism scores effect an increase in support for the fundamental freedoms embodied in the Freedoms Scale. Sex, as a variable, was the only main effect that did not interact with ability level or grade. The mean scores of the females in the study were slightly higher than the mean scores of the males on both the Freedoms Scale and the Law Scale. These results indicated a greater support for the fundamental freedoms embodied in the Freedoms Scale and a greater respect for the law and government officials for females over males. Separate chi-square analysis of the individual responses to the questions on the Freedoms Scale and the Iaw Scale indicated a total of 21 items from the scales significantly related to ability and 17 items significantly related to grade or sex. No identifiable pattern was discernable which could be generalized into a group description of adolescent support or non-support for combinations of the various items. Curricular approaches were suggested to improve citizenship instruction in the area of political socialization and recommendations were made for future research. / Ed. D.