We asked public K-12 teachers who have been teaching for more than a year how frequently these topics appeared in their classrooms during the last school year (2022-23) to understand how discussions about race and LGBTQ issues are raging in schools.
- The majority of teachers (56%) reported that at least occasionally, racism and racial inequality were on the agenda.
- 29% say the same about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Political teachers are far more likely than Democrat teachers to say that these subjects at least occasionally surfaced in their classrooms:
- This is true for topics like racism or racial inequality, according to 43% of Republican and Republican-leaning teachers and 67% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning teachers.
- This is true for sexual orientation and gender identity, according to 36% of Democratic teachers and 21% of Republican teachers.
Additionally, teachers in Democrat school districts (those where a majority of voters cast ballots for Joe Biden in the 2020 election) are more likely than those in Democratic districts to claim these subjects have been brought up in their classrooms. These issues are more prevalent in Political school districts for Republican and Republican teachers than Republican and minority teachers.
Additionally, these subjects are more prevalent in secondary schools than intermediate ones, and in urban and suburban classrooms than in rural ones. The most probable way to hear these subjects come up is from secondary school teachers who teach English or cultural reports.
What teachers believe students should know about gender identity and slavery?
Teachers were asked what they thought individuals should know about servitude and gender identity in school, according to the study. For these issues, we asked elementary, middle and high school teachers about elementary, middle and high school kids, both.
The legacy of slavery
The majority of teachers (64%) believe that students should be aware that the status of Black people in modern American society is still impacted by slavery.
A much smaller percentage (23%) of students believe that learning about slavery is a part of American history does not have an impact on Black people’s current status in American society.
Democratic teachers are much more likely than Republican teachers to advise students to understand that slavery still has an impact on Black people’s status today (85% vs. 35%). Middle and high school professors are more likely than elementary school teachers to say this, and dark instructors are more likely than White and Hispanic teachers to do the same.
Female personality
A third of teachers advise students to understand that a person’s sex may differ depending on whether they are a boy or a girl at conception.
A smaller proportion (14%) thinks that learning whether someone is a boy or a girl depends on their birth gender.
According to quarter of teachers, pupils should completely avoid learning about gender identity in classrooms.
Democratic teachers are significantly more likely than Republican teachers to believe that students should learn that someone’s gender can be different from their sex at birth (53% vs. 5%). The majority of Republican teachers (69 %) believe that students should completely avoid learning about this subject in class.
The majority of elementary school teachers (62%) believe that students should not be exposed to gender identity in the classroom. The same holds true for middle school students, according to 35% of middle class educators, and for high school students, who are middle school students.
More primary, middle, and high school teachers, however, agree that students may learn that sex can be unique from sex at birth as opposed to that sex is determined by sex at birth.
In the fall of 2022, we asked relatives of K-12 kids what they thought their children should learn about the legacy of slavery and female personality. On both issues, parents’ views were more equally split than the sights of teachers.
For teens’ views on what they should know about these topics, read Section 3 of this document.
If parents be able to forbid their children from learning about competition and LGBTQ issues?
When asked if relatives should be able to prevent their children from learning about particular subjects or if the way their subjects are taught problems with their own opinions or beliefs:
- 48% of educators support gender identity or sexual orientation.
- 25% say yes when it comes to subjects related to prejudice or racial inequality.
Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to believe that parents should be able to prevent their kids from learning about these subjects.
And end class and elementary school teachers are more likely than high school teachers to believe that parents should be able to choose their children’s education.
Read Chapter 4 of this document to learn more about the public’s opinions on families preventing their children from learning about race and Transgender problems.
