How Partisan Are Beliefs About Good Teaching in the USA?

• In Event: Conceptual and relational foundations of teaching effectiveness

Proposal

In a time of extreme polarization and cultural division, education in the United States is often treated as a battleground of competing ideologies. Yet in such a context of policy disputes, what do Americans believe makes a teacher “very good”? Do ideological and partisan dynamics influence beliefs about good teaching? This paper investigates those questions through a national study of 1,592 U.S. adults, using both quantitative and qualitative data to explore whether political identity, personal experience, and demographic characteristics shape public beliefs about effective teaching. By examining public beliefs about what constitutes “very good teaching” in the USA, a context that appears to be divided and increasingly partisan (Collins & Reckhow, 2024; Houston, 2024; Jocker et al, 2024), this study contributes original empirical evidence to addressing the CIES CFP to “Re-examining Education and Peace in a Divided World.”

Methodology
Using a representative sample with age, gender, region, race, and income closely resembling the US population, we administered a survey previously piloted (Authors, 2025) with adults across the U.S. about their experiences with “very good teachers” (VGT), defined as those from whom they “learned a lot.” Participants were offered ten pedagogical statements, which they were asked to rank based on the likelihood of VGTs having the traits and practices represented by these statements. The statements were drawn from prior research and categorized into two conceptual frames: a relationship-emphasized model (grounded in care, relevance, and personal support) and a content-emphasized model (focused on discipline, coverage, and standardized treatment). We analyzed survey responses using exploratory factor analysis, ANOVA, and multiple regression, along with thematic coding of open-ended responses.

Findings
Relationship-Driven Pedagogy Is Widely Valued
Across the board, respondents strongly endorsed the idea that VGTs build relationships, care about their students, and make learning meaningful. As shown in Table 1, five of the six highest-rated teacher qualities involved relational dimensions. Critical to note that the factors associated with VGT identified by the participants in our previous study (Authors, 2025) -- prioritizing relationships, affective connections, and mastery of content – also coincide with those identified in the relevant research literature (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018) and are aligned with the recently published recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession (UN, 2024). Participants valued teachers who knew them, cared about their success (8.8), made learning relevant (8.5), offered praise and encouragement (8.5), provided extra help and challenge (8.5), and taught with enthusiasm (9.2). The highest-rated quality was subject matter expertise (9.3), highlighting that knowledge is most appreciated when combined with care and understanding.

Beliefs Are Remarkably Consistent Across Demographic Groups
Despite political tensions in the U.S., beliefs about VGT in our survey did not vary significantly by race, gender, income, or education. As shown in Table 2, the survey included a diverse range of respondents: 50.1% female, 49.5% male; 27.5% from racially minoritized groups, with a wide spread of income and education levels. Regression analysis revealed that political identity had only a moderate effect on how participants scored teaching characteristics.

Political Identity Does Not Fully Predict Beliefs about Very Good Teaching
To assess ideological divergence, in another survey, we compared how self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents responded to the same statements framed by political identity. Results in Table 3 suggest some alignment with partisan cues—but also significant overlap: When VGT practices were framed as Democratic ideas, Democrats rated them most highly (83.7%), but even Republicans and Independents rated them positively (64.3% and 76.5%, respectively). When framed as Republican practices, the pattern flipped modestly: Republicans gave higher ratings (81.4%), but Democrats still rated them positively (75.8%). These results complicate the narrative of “a divided USA” on education. While partisan framing has an influence, it does not prevent cross-cutting appreciation of good teaching.

The Public Believes Teaching is a caring relationship job.
Open-ended responses revealed a widespread belief that teaching is most similar to mentoring or coaching, as shown in Table 4. Nearly 29% of single-label responses and 48% of multi-label responses identified coaching, mentoring, or training as the most analogous activities. Participants emphasized the shared elements of: Guiding personal growth; Adapting to individual needs; Encouraging long-term development. Examples include: “Coaching because it involves guiding, motivating, and helping others grow by building skills and confidence.” And “Mentoring is similar because it helps someone understand the steps and concepts of a subject.” Teaching was also likened to parenting, counseling, and even spiritual guidance—underscoring its affective and moral dimensions.

Significance
This study offers a cautious counter-narrative in a time of deepening ideological fragmentation. Rather than confirming sharp divisions, the data point to a more consensual belief of what good teaching looks like, where students learn a lot. Americans may disagree on policy specifics, but they largely agree on the qualities that define excellent educators: relational connection, relevance, care, and content expertise delivered with enthusiasm. In the context of the conference theme “Re-examining Education and Peace in a Divided World,” these findings offer two critical insights:
1. There is more consensus than polarization in public beliefs about teaching—especially when discourse shifts from policy to personal experience.
2. Teacher-student relationships are central to how people understand educational quality, regardless of ideology.

Beliefs and lived experience shape educational values more than partisanship, suggesting that policy reforms rooted in relational pedagogy may garner broader public support than expected. While political debates often cast education as a zero-sum ideological struggle, this study reveals a quieter consensus among the American public and is consistent with that of education scholars (Lemov, 2021; NRC, 2000), People believe that very good teachers are not those who deliver content mechanically, but those who connect, care, and inspire. Reimagining education through this lens may not only support stronger schools—it may also offer a rare foundation for a cross-partisan understanding in troubled times.

Authors

• Gustavo E Fischman, Arizona State University

• Margarita Pivovarova

• Eric Haas, Cal State East Bay