The Development Of Political Thinking In

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the written responses to a political problem of 100 English students between 12 and 14 years of age. The responses showed a wide variation in the levels of understanding students brought to the issue. Findings are discussed in the light of previous research into the development of political knowledge and understanding and recent work on schema theory. These students are seen to think about political issues largely using ‘personalized ’ and not societal schemas [1] but within these personal schemas there appear to be significant differences ranging from describing simple emotions to speculating on others ’ states of mind. The problem-solving skills employed by students also range from the inability to identify opposing viewpoints, through a stage where opposing positions are held in crude opposition, to one in which opposing considerations are held in tension. More sophisticated thinking amongst these students is also marked by self-awareness with regard to the thinking processes and by principled, as opposed to consequential, reasoning- but examples are rare. Implications of the findings for teachers of citizenship and political literacy are discussed