| Summary: | In this dissertation, I use the 2012 Cape Area Study - a survey of 2,518 Grade 11 students at 45 schools in the Cape Town metropolitan area - to explore school determinants of political engagement and participation among South Africa's first post-apartheid generation, the 'born frees'. I ask whether schools have had an impact on 'born free' students' civic engagement and the likelihood that they will participate in legal and illegal political activity, as well as voting in elections. Despite the legacies of the racially defined apartheid system, the current African National Congress (ANC) government's failure to deliver on their promise of equal, quality and democratic education for all, and the enduring crisis in basic education, I find that the school can have a positive influence on political engagement and attitudes toward political participation. In this regard, the school characteristics that have the greatest influence are: the frequency with which politics is discussed across classes, the level of participation in school governance and other organisations, and extent to which the school environment is fair and caring. In addition, the school contributes to the development of internal efficacy and a procedural (rather than instrumental) understanding of democracy, both of which positively impact political engagement and attitudes toward political participation. Socio-economic status and race have a relatively small impact, which is reassuring given South Africa's history and the persistently high level of socio-economic inequality. Intriguingly, where socioeconomic status and race are significant, it is the wealthier and previously advantaged groups who are less likely to be politically engaged and to have participative attitudes toward political activities, with the exception of voting.
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