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Youth’s Initiations of Civic and Political Discussions in Class: Do Youth’s Perceptions of Teachers’ Behaviors Matter and Why?

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Abstract

Teachers are thought to play an important role in fostering youth civic engagement; however, the current literature is limited with regard to providing concrete suggestions as to what teachers can do to promote youth civic engagement and why teachers have an impact on youth. To address these limitations, we simultaneously tested three alternative explanations to identify the critical way(s) in which perceived teachers’ behaviors might contribute to youth civic engagement in school. We also investigated the underlying processes that may explain why youth’s perceptions of teachers’ behaviors matter, by focusing on the mediating roles of young people’s feelings about politics and their political efficacy beliefs. The sample included 7th (n = 876, M age  = 13.42, SD = .71; 51 % girls) and 10th grade students (n = 857, M age  = 16.62, SD = .71; 51 % girls) residing in Sweden. Among the different aspects of perceived teacher behaviors, only an engaged and inspiring teaching style fostered youth’s initiations of civic and political discussions in class over time among both early and late adolescents. Moreover, youth’s feelings about politics significantly mediated the effect of perceived teachers’ behaviors on youth civic engagement in class. Contrary to our expectation, youth’s political efficacy did not act as a mediator. The present study sheds light on what teachers can do to promote youth civic and political engagement in a school setting.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made possible by access to data from the Political Socialization Program, a longitudinal research program at YeS (Youth and Society) at Örebro University, Sweden. Responsible for the planning, implementation, and financing of the collection of data were professors Erik Amna, Mats Ekström, Margaret Kerr and Håkan Stattin.

Authors’ Contributions

SBÖ developed the research idea for this study, performed the analysis, and drafted the manuscript. HS designed the original longitudinal study, collaborated with SBÖ in structuring the conceptual bases of the study, and worked on the interpretation of the findings. MÖ collaborated with SBÖ in performing the analyses and drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by a grant received from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Developmental Research, School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, 701 82, Örebro, Sweden

    Sevgi Bayram Özdemir, Håkan Stattin & Metin Özdemir

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  1. Sevgi Bayram Özdemir
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Correspondence to Sevgi Bayram Özdemir.

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Bayram Özdemir, S., Stattin, H. & Özdemir, M. Youth’s Initiations of Civic and Political Discussions in Class: Do Youth’s Perceptions of Teachers’ Behaviors Matter and Why?. J Youth Adolescence 45, 2233–2245 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0525-z

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