Educators’ Perceptions of How Limitations on Classroom Discussions About Race- and Gender-Related Topics Impact Student Learning

• In Event: How State and Local Policy Can Help Shape Students’ Civic Development

Abstract

By spring 2023, 18 states have passed policies restricting how teachers can address topics related to race, gender, and “divisive concepts” in the classroom (Schwartz, 2023). Advocates of these policies purport that they prevent the indoctrination of students and allow families to have greater transparency into and control over the educational content to which their students are exposed (Aldrich, 2021; Butcher and Burke, 2022). Conversely, opponents of these policies are concerned that they deprive students of the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and understand our nation’s complex history (Wolfe-Rocca and Nold, 2022; Morgan, 2022; Waxman, 2021).
These policies may already be shaping teachers’ instructional practices. As of spring 2022, one-quarter of U.S. teachers reported that such policies have influenced their choice of curriculum materials or instructional practices (Authors, 2023). However, it is less clear the extent to which teachers are continuing to shift their instruction in the midst of a continually-evolving political climate or how these restrictions are impacting student learning.
In this paper, we build on previous reporting and draw on new data from nationally representative surveys administered to thousands of teachers and principals via the RAND Corporation’s American Educator Panels in spring 2023 to investigate these knowledge gaps.We draw on data from close-ended survey items, along with an open-ended survey item asking teachers to describe how restrictions on classroom conversations about race and gender are impacting student learning. We compare responses for educators in varying contexts, such as their state policy context or the racial and socioeconomic status of their student population, as well as according to educators’ own demographic characteristics. Finally, we investigate how teachers’ perceptions have changed since 2022 (based on cross-sectional comparisons).
We find that as of spring 2023, about a third of U.S. public school teachers in states that have enacted statewide limitations on how teachers can address race- and gender-related topics in the classroom are shifting their instructional practices. Teachers in states where the restrictions were passed earlier and in states where there is a penalty for noncompliance report shifting their instructional practices the most. Although a large portion of teachers are unsure how these limitations are impacting student learning, almost no teachers (only 3 percent) perceive these restrictions as positively impacting student learning. Teachers who viewed these restrictions negatively expressed concerns that they would limit students’ opportunities to see their identities represented in the classroom and to develop critical content knowledge. Meanwhile, many teachers who viewed these restrictions positively felt that conversations about race and gender should be left for parents or that restrictions protected students from confusing or developmentally inappropriate content.
These unique findings will contribute to a growing national conversation about how and the extent to which controversial topics should be discussed in K–12 classroom settings. They will also help inform schools and districts about how they can better support their teachers with appropriate guidance and resources to address contentious topics in the classroom.

Authors

• Julia Heath Kaufman, RAND Corporation

• Sy Doan, RAND Corporation

• Ashley Woo, RAND Corporation

• Melissa Kay Diliberti, Pardee RAND Graduate School

• Sabrina Lee, Pardee RAND Graduate School