The 1960s, Image and Reality: Today's Students' Knowledge of Their Parent's Generation

Abstract

The knowledge of 186 students at a small college in the Midwest on cultural and political aspects of the 1 960s was measured by a survey. The sample was sub-divided into subjects who stated that the sources for their knowledge were the visual mass media and those who indicated other sources, to investigate possible connections to the subjects' degree of knowledge. The results suggest that students knew more about cultural than political aspects, especially about those that are still present. No difference was measured between groups naming the two types of sources. An informal investigation further suggested that academic classes have a positive influence on knowledge of political figures, groups, events and terms.