Education, Ethnicity, and Political Socialization In Kenya

Abstract

This study of a purposively selected cohort group of 525 Kenyan adolescents at varying levels of education (no education, primary education only, and secondary education) attempts to shed light on the role of education in the political socialization of youth in Africa. Hypotheses relating to the effects of education and selected demographic variables on the level of political information and interest, value orientations, and the level of diffuse support found among the members of this cohort group are tested. Employing cross tabulation, bivariate analysis, and regression analysis, it is found that education has an extremely important effect on the levels of political interest and knowledge of individuals. Findings with respect to values are less convincing, but education does appear to be closely related to support for the political system. Of the demographic variables, ethnic identity explains the most variance in levels of diffuse support, but this effect diminished when education was controlled. Given the volatile nature of ethnically based political competition in Africa, the primary implications of this study relate to conditions under which the level of education becomes a less significant influence on level of diffuse support and ethnicity becomes more important, as well as the content and context of education.