Understanding Social Studies Teachers' Instructional Beliefs and Practices in an Era of Political Polarization: Results From a National Survey

• In Event: "Walking on a Tightrope": Social Studies in an Era of Restrictions on Teaching Divisive Issues

Abstract

Purpose
As more states passed ‘divisive issue’ laws, social studies teachers are increasingly under partisan pressure to teach to exclude discussions of the role race/racism in U.S. society and other ‘divisive’ issues from their instruction (Pollock, 2022). Using a national survey of secondary U.S history and civics teachers (N = 843), we sought to better understand how these issues are currently being taught within these courses and identify areas where teachers are seeking additional resources.
Theoretical Framework
For this study, we draw on the framework of curricular-instructional gatekeeping (Thornton 1991;2005). Curricular-instructional gatekeeping posits that teachers filter inputs on how and what to teach. Instructional policy must be interpreted within the broader context in which teachers perceive, influence, modify and resist how the policy is enacted (Maguire et al., 2015). Understanding teachers’ values and current practices may help provide insight into how teachers may respond to policies to restrict teaching about ‘divisive’ issues.
Methods
With a K-12 education market research firm, we administered an online survey from December 2021- February 2022 to a national sample of U.S. history and civics who had taught either subject within the last few years. The survey received N = 843 responses. Although not a random sample, the sample was broadly representative of U.S. History and civics teachers (Table 1) and we received responses from all 50 states.
Findings
Teachers were largely supportive of efforts to include diverse perspectives in history. The vast majority (78%) strongly agreed that it was important to teach multiple perspectives rather than a single historical narrative. Teachers were more divided about how much they taught about specific topics that might be labeled ‘divisive’. About half (55%) said they put “a lot” of emphasis on slavery and its legacies and 52% on diversity/identity in the U.S.

Teachers also reported needing more resources for teaching about ‘divisive issues.’ Nearly half of teachers (47%) reported low confidence for teaching about “hard history” and 29% said that it was a top curricular need. Political polarization was mentioned by 49% of teachers as a top barrier in their teaching. Teachers who reported political polarization as a top barrier were less confident in their ability to teach hard history and were more likely to seek curricular support for teaching ‘hard history’ (Fig 1).
Significance
As new laws seek to restrict teaching, it is critical to understand social studies teachers’ perspectives on teaching these issues. Although we found broad agreement around teaching multiple perspectives, there were splits as to emphasizing topics such as slavery or diversity. Teachers also sought more resources to teach about these topics, particularly those concerned about polarization. These results suggest that while many teachers are committed to teaching about ‘divisive’ topics, there is a desire for more resources particularly where teachers may feel under threat and may not feel empowered to challenge the status quo directly. Based on these findings, future research should explore more how teachers experience these laws in different political and teaching contexts.

Author

• Joshua Littenberg-Tobias, GBH
  Presenting Author