A compensatory boost: how does an open classroom climate moderate a weak political socialisation background?

Abstract Schools have long been expected to promote psychological political engagement, particularly among less advantaged groups. Previously, an open classroom climate (OCC) has been recognised as a potential equaliser, yet the exact mechanisms behind this remain unclear. Building on social learning theory, I assume that both individual perceptions and class-level experiences of an open classroom climate may enhance political engagement. Analysing a nationwide dataset of 15–16-year-olds ( N = 5,220) in a multilevel OLS design, I examine whether open classroom climate at the class level or at the individual level is associated with diminished differences in political engagement operationalised as political interest and political self-efficacy between adolescents from strong and weak backgrounds of political socialisation by parents, peers and media. The results show that an open classroom climate at the class level is positively associated with both political interest and political self-efficacy with no evidence of moderation by socialisation background. However, more positive individual-level perceptions of OCC are more strongly associated with political engagement among adolescents with weaker political socialisation backgrounds. Consequently, class-level open classroom climate may provide vicarious exposure to pluralistic discussions for all students, while individual perceptions of OCC may be particularly relevant for adolescents with weaker socialisation elsewhere.