How and Why Teachers Taught About the 2020 U.S. Election - An Analysis of Survey Responses From Twelve States

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

Explores how U.S. secondary social studies teachers reported teaching about the 2020 presidential election, using survey responses from 1,723 teachers across 12 states gathered in the weeks after the election. Analyzes reported pedagogies, topics, and overall teaching frequency, and tests how civics/government course instruction, curriculum control, and teachers’ demographics, civic education ideologies, and teaching contexts relate to election-related instructional choices. Findings inform efforts to strengthen civic learning during contentious election cycles.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Background

What Are the Benefits and Challenges of Studying Elections?

AERA Open January-December 2024, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 1–17 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584241234884 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2024. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) How and Why Teachers Taught About the 2020 U.S. Election: An Analysis of Survey Responses From Twelve States Paul G. Fitchett Auburn University Brett L. M. Levy University at Albany, State University of New York Jeremy D. Stoddard University of Wisconsin–Madison This study explores social studies teachers’ self-reported instruction about teaching the 2020 election in U.S. secondary schools. We analyzed survey responses from 1,723 secondary social studies teachers from 12 states (3 left-leaning, 3 rightleaning, 6 battleground) collected in the weeks after the election, examining self-reported pedagogies, topics taught, and overall frequency of teaching about the election. Respondents reported teaching about the election more frequently if they taught courses in civics or government and/or if they had greater control over their curricula. Analyses indicated that teachers’demographic characteristics, teaching contexts, and ideologies about civic education were related to the election-related topics they taught and the instructional practices they employed. Our findings have important implications for educators, administrators, policymakers, and others interested in strengthening civic learning. Keywords: civic education, democratic education, civic engagement, teaching elections This study explores secondary school teachers’self-reported instruction about the 2020 presidential election, an unusually vitriolic contest that unfolded amidst one of the greatest public health crises in global history. Teaching about elections can substantially strengthen students’ engagement in public issues (Levy et al., 2016), but many educators have recently been hesitant to integrate current political issues into their course content (Costello, 2017) . Whereas some teachers exclude such content to avoid accusations of political bias (Geller, 2020; McAvoy & Hess, 2013), others are concerned about maintaining a positive classroom environment (Levy et al., 2016) . Further, teachers’ own ideological stances toward civic education can influence their instructional decision-making (Clark et al., 2020; Knowles, 2018) . The extreme political partisanship associated with the 2020 election coupled with the COVID pandemic created an unusually heated context for teaching about elections and related issues (Grossman et al., 2021) . In our multistate study, we examine the intersections among teachers’ civic education ideologies, teaching contexts, and demographics on the frequency and ways the 2020 election was taught. Findings strengthen our understanding of the opportunities that students have (or do not have) to learn about vital political issues during highly contentious and politically charged election cycles. Background Central to this study is our belief that educators, as vital instructional and curriculum gatekeepers (Kaka & Hollstein, 2022; Thornton, 2005), should help students learn to engage thoughtfully and participate actively in the political world (Hinchliffe, 2010) . This requires educators to support students’ understanding of civic life and public issues (Rebell, 2018); and over the past several decades, standards in many U.S. states have begun to reflect this notion (e.g., Michigan Department of Education, 2019; New York State Education Department & University of the State of New York, 2014) . There are numerous, valuable ways to engage in civic issues (Levine, 2007), but this study focuses on education for electoral participation because elections are a widely accessible method of choosing leaders and shaping policies Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed unde

FAQs

What is the study’s main research focus?

The study examines how secondary social studies teachers reported teaching about the 2020 U.S. election and which factors shape their instructional decisions.

How many teachers and how many states were included?

Survey responses came from 1,723 secondary social studies teachers across 12 states.

What factors were associated with more frequent election-related teaching?

Teachers reported teaching about the election more frequently when they taught civics or government courses and/or when they had greater control over their curricula.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam