Poster #76 - A Qualitative Case Study of Influences of the 2016 U.S. Election on Classrooms and Children

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

It is now a well-documented phenomenon that the 2016 U.S. presidential campaigns and elections were among the more visible, emotionally-charged and divisive in recent memory, and the effects of the intensity of this election are slowly becoming realized. One of the first attempts to capture what many people anecdotally felt in their own personal experience was the SPLC’s late 2016 survey of 10,000 teachers, counselors, school administrators and other school personnel. As a follow-up to the 2016 primary season survey, the general election survey demonstrated profoundly troubling effects, primarily manifested in changes in school climate: 90% of educators reported more pronounced negative school climate, with 80% specifically citing anxiety among students and expressing concern about the lasting impact of the election on students and families (SPLC, Trump Effect 2016). These observations and concerns track closely to patterns in academic research. Transmission of political views, ideology, and political information to young children can be most pronounced and effective if the parents are highly politicized and demonstrate consistent political cues to young children (Jennings, Stoker, & Bowers, 2009). Further, these effects of early exposure in a highly politicized environment through parents are likely to directly influence subsequent political development in adulthood, affirming the fears and speculation of educators cited in the 2016 SPLC report (Jennings, Stoker, & Bowers, 2009; SPLC, 2016). The purpose of this qualitative case study, informed by the aforementioned, was to examine to what extent and in what ways teachers and families from an elementary lab school perceived the 2016 U.S. presidential election and subsequent presidency as influencing classrooms and children. Case study design and qualitative methods were informed by Stake (1995) and Creswell (2012). We relied upon bioecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) which accounts for the transmission of macrosystem-level cultural factors to the individual through multilayered systems and bi-directional relationships and emphasizes that time (the chronosystem) is an important element of development as a theoretical lens. This theory helps illuminate how children themselves are constantly developing and changing, with this development and change occurring not in a vacuum, but rather within the context of nested, interrelated systems that likewise are dynamic and changing through complex interactional processes. Participants included 4 teachers and 10 families (see table 1) from 2nd grade, 3rd/4th multi-grade, and 5th/6th multi-grade classes at a single elementary lab school. Teachers participated in individual, semi-structured interviews and families completed online questionnaires. Qualitative analysis of the data resulted in identification of five themes focused on: teaching government to children, intergenerational transmission of political attitudes, classroom context and child characteristics, emotion, and time and the chronosystem (see table 2). Our poster will communicate these themes and include discussion of assertions and reflections that can be translated into practical recommendations for improving child and teacher well-being in the broader context of challenging situations that may impact classroom climate, experiences, and curriculum decisions.

Authors

• Keely Cline, Northwest Missouri State University
  Presenting Author

• Luke Campbell, Northwest Missouri State University
  Non-Presenting Author