There are many heated debates about what should be taught in schools. Types of books students should readhow LGBTQ topics will be discussed or how to talk about racism.
He says there are several problems with these arguments. morgan polikoffone of which is that we are not particularly informed by evidence about what people want from public education.
Polikoff and researchers at the University of Southern California, where he is a professor of education, set out to find out what Americans think about a topic that has sparked controversy over the past few years.as a result study found that while there are some clear partisan disagreements, there are also some surprising areas where most adults agree.
“I think there is a broad, sensible middle class in this country that is interested in common sense and general education policy opinions. [and] “It’s sometimes not well expressed by two extreme views,” Polikoff said. “One hope is that instead of dividing the debate, Red and Blue State Education Policy AgendaIt means we can deliver smart, civic-minded reforms that the majority of people can support. ”
The study was based on survey responses from 3,905 U.S. adults, about half of whom reported having at least one school-age child at home. Their political affiliation was 40% Democratic, 34% Republican, and 27% “other.”
Polikoff spent his career studying curriculum, and over time he became interested in the role politics plays in shaping curriculum.
“People who study policy often think, ‘If I could create the perfect policy, it would improve student learning,'” he says. “But politics plays a big role in policy. Right now, it’s mainly these hot topics.” I really felt like I had an opportunity to provide evidence of what was going on. ”
What’s the point?
The researchers first asked participants about the fundamental purpose of public education and quickly found some common values.
The survey results show that adults of all political parties generally agree that teaching reading, writing, and math is “very important,” and a majority say free education and learning about civics are equally important. Ta.
The biggest opinion was about whether it is important to “teach children the importance of accepting differences.” While a majority of adults overall said it was important, 74% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans agreed with this idea.
public and private funds
Politicians are increasingly pushing for “school choice” laws in places such as: georgia (if the voucher banknote is newly stamped) and texas (The governor called four special sessions last year in hopes of salvaging the doomed voucher bill).
But what about the average American? Researchers found that adults generally support public funding to attend public schools, even though the majority of respondents think they learn more in private schools. I discovered that.
They asked participants to choose between sending education funds to send low-income students to private schools or using them to improve public schools. Overall, 73% of participants said the funds should go to public schools.
By political party and income, a majority of each group wanted more funding for public education.
Stark Division on LGBTQ+ Topics
Researchers asked participants to judge whether potentially controversial topics, such as sex education, racism, and discussion of LGBTQ+ issues, were appropriate at both the elementary and high school levels.
LGBTQ+ issues garnered the most politically stratified responses, with Democrats largely supportive and Republicans generally opposed to discussing LGBTQ+ in high schools.
At the elementary school level, adults were generally supportive in teaching topics such as “why it’s important to be kind to others” and the importance of standing up for others. As the agenda became more complex, political divisions became more pronounced.
For example, 69 percent of Democrats mentioned a book about “same-sex penguin adoption.” This is an obvious nod. “And there will be three tangos.” — suitable for elementary schools, but only 24 percent of Republicans agreed.
Fewer adults of either party approved of lessons and discussions that directly addressed gender and LGBTQ topics in elementary schools. Only 28% of adults say “discussing the right to use the restroom according to gender identity” is appropriate for that age group, with 43% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans agreeing by political party. did.
Although there was more agreement on discussions of LGBTQ+ topics in high school, when the survey asked about situations beyond the general topics of being kind and standing up for others, partisan differences Differences were once again highlighted.
Regarding same-sex penguin adoption, 79% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans said it was appropriate for high schools.
Overall, a majority of participants said that situations such as discussions about same-sex marriage rights, LGBTQ American history, and teachers having pictures of same-sex partners on their desks were appropriate for high school, but differed by political party.
talk about racism
Concerns about racism in public schools, and more specifically discussions about critical race theory, reached “mass hysteria” several years ago, researchers say. While that level of panic is occurring, It’s late More recently, research has shown that talking about racism still causes racism. deep partisan divide.
Participants generally agreed that most discussions about racism are appropriate for older students rather than younger students. Only a handful of scenarios dealing with racism received support from the majority of adults as being appropriate for elementary school students. The most consensus was on discussions about “equal treatment regardless of skin color” and colonial-era harm to Native Americans.
A discussion of “slavery as the main cause of the Civil War” in elementary school was considered appropriate by less than half (42 percent) of all adults. By party, 55% of Democrats and 32% of Republicans said it was appropriate. (The majority of all groups said it was appropriate for high school.)
In this study, Republicans differed in their desire to “protect children from guilt over historic racism,” but Democrats and participants affiliated with another political party differed in their desire to protect children from guilt over historic racism. Turns out that wasn’t a concern.
Despite this, a majority of people of all political affiliations said that “children should read books by racial minority authors because they offer different experiences and perspectives.” This may come as a surprise to those who have been following the news. Textbook bans on the risewe’re looking at books about racism alongside books about sexuality and gender.
“I think our report points to an example where it’s still not black and white,” Polikoff said. “We need to get down to very specific detail about what people want and don’t want, and not caricature the opposition on either side. Because in red states I truly believe that we can create a curriculum that caters to an increasingly diverse student body.”
parental controls
The term “parental rights” is increasingly being used in discussions about education. This was part of the anti-book movement and debate. Gender expressed by students at school.
Adults generally support parents in speaking out if they disagree with their child’s lessons or topics that come up in class. Actions like talking to kids and teachers about disagreements, talking about it at school board meetings, and opting out of class were supported by more than 71 percent of survey respondents. Excluding children from school and organizing protests were among the least popular responses.
However, participants were divided on how schools should respond when parents raise concerns. 34% said classes should continue as planned, 29% said schools should change, and the rest either didn’t know or thought otherwise. .
For those who did not agree to proceed with the lesson as planned, the researchers asked respondents for further details about what the next step should be.
None of the answers received majority agreement, with 33% saying the final decision should be made by the teacher or principal, and 30% saying the final decision should be left to the board of education. Less than 10% of respondents answered, “I don’t know” or “Should parents vote on classes or should schools abolish classes?”
Polikoff said the responses show that many people weren’t thinking that far ahead.
“What should a school or district do when parents express disagreement? Or what should a school or district do when parents in the same school or classroom express different priorities? , people don’t have a good answer to that question. We really think about the advanced and selfish parental rights language, “What does that actually mean?” I think I haven’t gotten over it yet. ”
