Classroom Climate, Global Knowledge, Global Attitudes, Political Attitudes

Abstract Findings from research relating to the effectiveness of global studies curricula and to effective citizenship education programs suggest that enabling students to reflectively examine controversial global issues in an open climate might relate to increased student knowledge of global affairs and to positive political and global attitudes. A total of 202 students responded to a questionnaire. The interrelationships between each of the attitudinal scales and level of global knowledge were examined through a Pearson correlation matrix. Additionally, for exploratory purposes, analysis of variance permitted the data to be examined by gender and race. Data analysis indicated that for this sample there was a weak relationship between perceptions of an open classroom climate and levels of global knowledge, and a moderate relationship between perceptions of an open classroom climate and positive global attitudes. With regard to political attitudes, students' perceptions of an open classroom climate were moderately related to positive attitudes of political efficacy, political confidence, and political interest, and weakly related to political trust. The relationship of classroom climate to global knowledge, global attitudes, and political attitudes when examined by race and/or gender revealed no statistically significant differences.