Majority of teachers think government, parents have too much influence over school curriculum: Survey

A new survey by Pew Research Center found 71 percent of teachers said they don’t have enough influence over what is taught in public schools in their area.

Fifty-eight percent of the teachers surveyed said their state government has too much influence over what is taught in schools.

The poll also found the contentious debates about what is taught and not taught in schools, which often center on issues of race, sexual orientation and gender identity, are hurting their ability to teach.

Forty-one percent of teachers surveyed said the debates have had a negative impact on their ability to do their job, while just 4 percent said the debates had had a positive impact. Fifty-three percent said the impact has been neither positive nor negative or that these debates have had no impact. 

The poll, taken in a survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers conducted from Oct. 17-Nov. 14, comes amid fierce debates across the country over school curriculum.

Republican governors in particular, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have pushed legislation to limit what topics can be taught in schools and how they should be taught. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s victory in a 2021 election centered on the idea of parents’ rights in schools.

Since 2021, at least 18 states have imposed bans or restrictions on teaching topics of race and gender, according to a report by Education Weekly.

Parent-led groups have also put pressure on schools and teachers. In 2021, a New Hampshire chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative parental group, offered $500 to anyone who caught an educator teaching certain elements of racism and sexism.

The Pew report found strong support among teachers about educating students on the legacy of slavery and how it affects Black Americans today.

Sixty-four percent of teachers polled said students should learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today, while 23 percent said students should learn that slavery is part of American history but no longer affects the position of Black people in American society.

Just 8 percent said students shouldn’t learn about this topic in school at all. Majorities of elementary, middle and high school teachers said students should learn that the legacy of slavery still has an impact on the lives of Black Americans.

Support among teachers on educating children about issues surrounding gender identity was softer.

Half of public K-12 teachers said students shouldn’t learn in school whether people's gender can be different from or is determined by their sex assigned at birth, according to the survey.

A third of teachers surveyed said they think students should learn that someone can be a boy or a girl even if that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth, while 14 percent said students should learn that whether someone is a boy or a girl is determined by their sex at birth.

While views were varied among those teaching elementary, middle and high school students, teachers across the board were more likely to say students should learn that people's gender can be different from their sex at birth than to say students should learn gender is determined by sex at birth.

Sixty-two percent of elementary school teachers said students shouldn’t learn about gender identity in school, while much smaller percentages had this opinion among middle school teachers and high school teachers — 45 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

A 2022 survey by Pew found that 49 percent of parents wanted their children to learn the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today, while 42 percent said they’d rather their children learn that slavery no longer affects Black Americans.

Thirty-one percent of parents said they’d rather their children learn that gender can be different from sex at birth in the 2022 survey.

About half of teens, 48 percent, said they’d rather learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black Americans today, the 2022 survey found.

And 38 percent of teens said they feel comfortable when topics related to racism or racial inequality come up in class.

On gender identity, a quarter of teens said they’d rather learn that people's gender can be different from their sex at birth, while 48 percent said they shouldn’t learn about gender identity in school.

The polling showed a notable party-line split, with 85 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning teachers saying students should learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today. Just 35 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning teachers said the same.

Democratic teachers were also far more likely than Republican teachers to say students should learn that people's gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth, at 53 percent compared to 5 percent.

Sixty-seven percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning teachers said topics related to racism or racial inequality have come up in their classrooms, compared to 43 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning teachers. 

Similarly, 36 percent of Democratic teachers said discussions related to sexual orientation and gender identity have come up in their classes. Only 21 percent of Republican teachers said the same. 

Forty-five percent of teachers said the federal government had too much influence in setting school curricula, a number that also differs based on party alliance.

Fifty-seven percent of Republican teachers said the federal government has too much influence, compared to only 39 percent of Democratic teachers. 

Thirty-two percent of teachers said parents had too much influence compared to only 19 percent of teachers who said parents don't have enough influence. 

The report found that 48 percent of teachers said parents should have the right to opt their children out of lessons on topics of sexuality and gender identity if it conflicts with parents’ personal views or beliefs. Only about a quarter said the same about topics related to racism or racial inequality.

In both instances, Republican teachers were twice as likely as Democratic teachers to say this.