Evidence of Inconsisten cies in Public Support for Educational Neutrality - Talk by Eric Torr es
In this talk I present the results of a study of Americans� �� attitudes about political socialization in public schools. Using d ata from a nationally representative survey conducted in March of 202 5, I find that Americans across the political spectrum largely oppose schools attempting to steer students towards either liberal or conse rvative viewpoints, even if they align with respondents' own. However , a survey experiment reveals Americans are significantly more likely to rate as acceptable teachers’ political disclosures to students when those disclosures are aligned with respondents' own ideological leanings, suggesting that partisans may inconsistently apply their pr eferences for educational neutrality in forming judgements about indi vidual cases in the classroom. These asymmetries in stakeholder oversight suggest a mechanism by which educational polarization ;between predominantly liberal and conservative educational settings& nbsp;might be exacerbated. I conclude by discussing implications for public trust in education and avenues for future research.
DESCRIPTION: In this talk I present the results of a study of American s’ attitudes about political socialization in public schools. Using data from a nationally representative survey conducted in March of 2 025, I find that Americans across the political spectrum largely oppo se schools attempting to steer students towards either liberal or con servative viewpoints, even if they align with respondents' own. Howev er, a survey experiment reveals Americans are significantly more like ly to rate as acceptable teachers’ political disclosures to student s when those disclosures are aligned with respondents' own ideologica l leanings, suggesting that partisans may inconsistently apply their preferences for educational neutrality in forming judgements about in dividual cases in the classroom. These asymmetries in stakehold er oversight suggest a mechanism by which educational polarization&nb sp;between predominantly liberal and conservative educational setting s might be exacerbated. I conclude by discussing implications fo r public trust in education and avenues for future research. Evidence of Inconsistencies in Public Support for Educational Neutrality - Ta lk by Eric Torres END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR