Why Are Graduates More Socially Liberal? Estimating the Effect of Higher Education on Political Values Through Variation in University Experience.
Previous research has found that attending university results in an individual being more socially liberal and less racially prejudiced, accounting for a variety of alternative explanations. Yet what is it about university that induces this change in political values? This is the question this artic...
| Published in: | Political Studies Vol. 73; no. 2; pp. 885 - 904 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Sage Publications Inc.
May2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=185038051&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 185038051 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00323217 PSZ jtl: Political Studies issn: 00323217 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: May2025 vid: 73 iid: 2 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. artinfo: ui: 185038051 10.1177/00323217241266029 ppf: 885 ppct: 19 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T db: hlh ui: 185038051 – @attributes: type: P db: hlh ui: 185038051 tig: atl: Why Are Graduates More Socially Liberal? Estimating the Effect of Higher Education on Political Values Through Variation in University Experience. aug: au: Scott, Ralph affil: School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK Department of Politics, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK su: Geographic mobility Social values Social change Educational benefits Political science education sug: subj: Geographic mobility Social values Social change Educational benefits Political science education keyword: cohort study higher education political values prejudice social liberalism socialisation cohort study higher education political values prejudice social liberalism socialisation ab: Previous research has found that attending university results in an individual being more socially liberal and less racially prejudiced, accounting for a variety of alternative explanations. Yet what is it about university that induces this change in political values? This is the question this article addresses, by investigating three variations in university experience – degree subject, geographic mobility and change in social context – through analysis of a British cohort study linked to Census data. Using panel estimation methods, it finds that graduates of arts, humanities and social science subjects become more socially liberal than those studying other subjects, even when accounting for institutional variation, mobility, contextual effects and time-invariant confounding. It therefore makes the case that the effect of university on political values should be considered in part a learning effect: whereby disciplines affect individuals' worldviews during the 'impressionable years'. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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