The development of democratic values among adolescents

Adolescents' attachment to core values of democratic rule is important for the resilience and strength of democratic societies. Yet, little is known about the development of these democratic values among young people (see this literature review). How do adolescents think about democracy and politics? How important do they consider issues such as freedom of speech, equal rights, and the separation of powers? And to what extent do young people, classes, and schools differ in these matters?

We also have limited knowledge about the consequences of inequalities in support for democratic values and the potential role schools can play in compensating these inequalities.

To explore these questions, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), ProDemos, the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have united their efforts and established the Dutch Adolescent Panel on Democratic Values (DAPDV).

It is the aim of the DAPDV to monitor the development of democratic values among adolescents and examine the role that schools can play in this development. To achieve this, researchers from the University of Amsterdam collect data from students in around 50 secondary schools across the Netherlands. These students are surveyed on an annual basis to track their development.

On this website, we aim to inform schools and parents about the project.