Student perceptions of patriotism in England and the United States of America

The perceptions held by high school students concerning patriotism is an indicator of whether education is influencing students to become active citizens in a democratic nation. The United States and England share a common history and philosophical values that have influenced their current democratic forms of government. Understanding the perceptions that high school students in both nations have, alongside a comprehension of the role of education in developing such perceptions, offers an insight into the student’s understanding of their role as a citizen in a democratic nation. This mixed method study looked at the perceptions of patriotism held by 120 students in England and 120 students in the United States of America. The first part of the study consisted of the administration of a 20-item Likert scale survey. The second part included follow-up interviews of 6 students at each school site. Exploratory factor analysis was administered in order to establish the dominant factors in the students’ understanding of patriotism. The interviews were transcribed and then examined using narrative analysis in order to further investigate how students’ perceived patriotism, and to discover emergent themes. Exploratory factor analysis of the samples produced dominant factors that were termed constructive patriotism, importance of emotional attachment, and blind patriotism. Analysis suggested that students in both nations understood the terms used in the discussion of patriotism in a similar manner. Analysis also suggested that students were more likely to adopt a constructive patriotism over a blind patriotism. These results suggest that students understanding of patriotism in both nations are more likely to align with the democratic values