The political behavior of high school students in Trinidad

This study investigated the political behavior of High School students in Trinidad, and attempted to discover their political knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. It dealt with their party affiliation, ethnic tolerance, involvement and level of political orientation; and their dispositions towards the political system and nation as a whole. Although the study was formulated and analysed within the framework of "political socialization," it did not deal with how the students were socialized politically, but with what orientations they learned as a result of differential socialization. The results show that the students' political knowledge, level of participation and interest were, in general, relatively. low; they displayed no great national pride and only a mediocre "system affect." However, these findings were greatly modified when we controlled for the important factors of ethnicity and social class, as Negro and Indian students stood out in their political attitudes, and lower class students in their involvement