Students’ attitudes towards fundamental democratic values: The construction of a measurement instrument

Abstract

Schools carry the important task of fostering democratic values like equality and tolerance among students. This study examined to what extent a valid and reliable measurement instrument can be developed to gain insight into students’ attitudes towards democratic values and what can be concluded based on this measurement. We constructed the Fundamental Democratic Values Questionnaire (FDVQ) based on existing conceptualisations of democratic values. After that, we conducted two pilot studies ( N = 302 and N = 227) and a first measurement ( N = 3278) among Dutch students in grades 5 and 6 (approximately 10–12 years old), resulting in an impression of the usefulness of the instrument for empirical research and practical use by schools. The results support the FDVQ’s validity and reliability to measure students’ attitudes towards democratic values. Support for democratic values among students was generally high. These findings and the implications of the FDVQ are further discussed.