A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that American parents differ substantially by political affiliation when it comes to what their K-12 children should learn in school.
The survey, conducted throughout October of 2022, showed that Republican parents are about twice as likely as their Democratic counterparts to state that they don’t have enough influence when it comes to teaching subjects. Republican parents are also more likely to state that school boards have too much influence (30%) compared to Democrats (17%).
“When it comes to what their children are learning in school, U.S. parents of K-12 students are divided over what they think their children should learn about gender identity: 31% say they would prefer that their children learn that whether someone is a boy or a girl is determined by the sex they were assigned at birth, and the same share say they’d rather their children learn that someone can be a boy or a girl even if that’s different from their sex at birth,” according to the Pew report. “A 37% plurality say their children shouldn’t learn about this in school.”
On the issue of children learning about slavery, the Pew survey did not establish any consensus. 49% preferred that their children learn that the legacy of slavery still impacts how Black people are viewed in American society today. 42% preferred that children learn that slavery is part of American history without considering its affect on Black people in today’s society.
“On both gender identity and the legacy of slavery, there are differences ranging from 23 to 46 percentage points in what Republican and Democratic parents of K-12 students would prefer that their children learn in school,” the report states.
“There are also large partisan differences when it comes to what parents want their K-12 children to learn about sex education and America’s standing in the world.”
