Children's Attitude To Politics
A quarter (23%) of children aged 11 to 16 say they understand how Parliament works. One in eight (12%) know about the European Union (EU) but almost a quarter (23%) claim never to have heard of it.
Children are not as cynical about democracy as their parents. More than half (57%) feel it will be their 'duty' to vote when they are older, and nearly half (49%) say that voting is important. However just over half (53%) believe that large companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft have a strong influence on their day-to-day lives, compared with two-fifths (40%) who say that the Government does.
The majority (87%) say the most important characteristic of a good citizen is respecting others while one in five (19%) define citizenship as "having a say in what goes on".
Topline Results
- 2,686 interviews were conducted among schoolchildren aged 11-16 in England and Wales
- Self-completion questionnaires were completed in classroom sessions between 14 January and 8 March 2002
- Results are based on all respondents, unless otherwise stated
- Data have been weighted by gender, age and region
- An asterisk (*) represents a value of less than half a per cent, but not zero
- Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding, or the exclusion of 'don't know / not stated' response categories
Q1 How much do you feel you know about each of the following?
| The way Parliament works | The European Union | |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| A great deal | 3 | 2 |
| A fair amount | 20 | 10 |
| Just a little | 33 | 21 |
| Hardly anything | 37 | 41 |
| Never heard of | 6 | 23 |
| Not stated | 1 | 3 |
Q2 How strongly do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know | Not stated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Voting is not important | 6 | 11 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 7 | 1 |
| The way people vote makes a difference to the way the country is run | 25 | 41 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| I feel it will be my duty to vote when I am older | 22 | 35 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| Politicians are all the same | 10 | 14 | 24 | 18 | 13 | 18 | 2 |
Q3 As you may know, the people who live in the United Kingdom are called "UK citizens". Sometimes you hear people talk about "good citizens". In your opinion, which two or three of the following are the most important things that make someone a good citizen?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Respecting others | 87 |
| Obeying the law | 72 |
| Looking after the environment | 47 |
| Being a good parent | 31 |
| Having a say in what goes on | 19 |
| Volunteering to do things | 17 |
| Voting at elections | 6 |
| Other | 2 |
| None of these | * |
| Don't know | 2 |
| Not stated | * |
Q4 And do you agree or disagree that schools should teach children about how to be a good citizen?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 23 |
| Tend to agree | 34 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 27 |
| Tend to disagree | 5 |
| Strongly disagree | 5 |
| Don't know | 6 |
| Not stated | 1 |
Q5 Which of the following influence your day-to-day life the most? You can tick up to three of the organisations listed below.
| % | |
|---|---|
| Large companies, e.g. Nike, Coca-Cola, Microsoft | 53 |
| The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) | 40 |
| Your local Council | 27 |
| The European Union | 9 |
| Charities and pressure groups, EEG. Greenpeace, Amnesty International | 9 |
| The Government of the United States of America (USA) | 7 |
| The United Nations (UN) | 6 |
| None of these | 8 |
| Don't know | 22 |
| Not stated | 1 |
