69ý

Social Studies From Our Research Center

Civics Is Getting Harder to Teach, Principals Say

By Sarah Schwartz — September 06, 2024 4 min read
U.S. Elections - Background - Nation's Captiol - Civics
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

When Gary West taught elementary school social studies two decades ago in a suburb of San Antonio, he wasn’t afraid to take his lessons beyond the bounds of the textbook.

West wasn’t told to steer clear of potentially controversial topics, so he shaped lessons that he thought would pique students’ interest. Teaching history, he led discussions about how the founding fathers’ backgrounds—white, wealthy, landowning—might have influenced the way they wrote laws. To teach about the government, he ran mock elections in his classroom during election years.

His students grappled with how political systems are shaped, why people make the choices they do, and what choices they might make in their communities. The lessons made civic education concrete for them, West said.

Now, though, as an elementary school assistant principal in the same district where he taught, West discourages his teachers from having the kinds of conversations he used to lead. “We are specific with teachers, especially new teachers, about the importance of staying within our curriculum guide,” he said.

“In the current environment, we don’t have teachers step out of those lines. At least not in our neck of the woods.”

West’s perspective is increasingly common among school leaders, according to an August survey from the EdWeek Research Center.

When asked about obstacles to civics education in their schools, 30 percent of principals said the idea that civics is too political or controversial was a “challenging” or “very challenging” barrier. In a separate 2018 survey, only 19 percent of school leaders (including principals, assistant principals, and deans) said the same.

Losing real-life civics lessons is ‘unfortunate’

The six-year period between those surveys spanned a particularly tumultuous period of American life, bringing a global pandemic, a norm-breaking presidential election, a violent attempt to thwart the certification of that election’s results, and widespread national protests against racism and police violence.

Some Republican lawmakers, in an attempt to prevent schools from teaching about these issues, passed policies in 18 states regulating discussions of “divisive concepts,” or topics that could be considered controversial. Classroom conversations about civic life became increasingly fraught.

“As a society, we have become less civil when it comes to politics. It’s become more partisan,” said Jennifer Connolly, the principal of Preston High School, a Catholic school in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, Connolly started to hear from parents, concerned that teachers who asked students to analyze the U.S. Constitution and other primary source documents in history and government classes were attempting to indoctrinate their children.

Now, with the 2024 presidential election quickly approaching, some school leaders feel that they’re in a bind. While they want to encourage their teachers to take advantage of this real-life civics lesson as they have in years past, they worry that meaty discussions about policy and current events could court too much controversy in the current landscape.

Avoiding these topics comes at a cost, said Mirriah Elliott, the principal of Carson Elementary School in Denver. Colorado doesn’t ban discussion of controversial issues in K-12 classrooms, but Elliott said her staff members still worry about community members perceiving their instruction as biased.

In every other subject, her teachers add in supplemental resources designed to engage students’ interest. They don’t do that in social studies, she said.

“That’s unfortunate,” said Elliott, “because there are so many opportunities to make it relate to their lives.”

See Also

Vote here sidewalk sign pointing to open doors of a building.
Canva

How can teachers provide instruction on civics and avoid controversy?

In attempts to avoid classroom division or complaints from parents, some school leaders advise their teachers to focus on civic ideals, rather than foregrounding their application in real life.

At Carson Elementary, it’s not that teachers avoid civics entirely, said Elliott. But the lessons are more “generic,” she said.

69ý learn about the importance of voting and supporting what they believe in, but they don’t discuss specific perspectives, said Elliott.

In New York, Connolly is preparing for the upcoming election by training her teachers in promoting civil dialogue.

In past years, Preston High School has hosted candidates for local office who have presented on policy issues to the student body. Parents on both sides of the political aisle complained, saying that having candidates come speak amounted to an endorsement of the politicians’ views. Connolly nixed these visits.

The civil dialogue training focuses in part on setting classroom norms for respectful conversation, she said. It’s important for students to learn not to “villainize” their peers for holding different political views, she added.

In the EdWeek Research Center survey, 27 percent of principals said that “teacher training” was a challenging or very challenging obstacle to teaching civics in 2024. That’s compared to 14 percent of school leaders in 2018.

Deepening political divides in the country make teacher training in civics education increasingly important—and increasingly difficult, said Connolly. Many educators want a “formula” for handling tough conversations, she said: “If X happens, then I do Y.”

But there isn’t a script for addressing every student question that might arise, said Connolly. “We can’t always give them that formula.”

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Social Studies 'Can We Trust This Source?' And Other Questions Readers Ask in History
Historical texts require students to weigh authors' bias, context, and audience.
7 min read
Illustration of student reading book with tinted glasses.
Dan Page for Education Week
Social Studies Download How to Hold a Mock Election in Your Classroom: A Downloadable Guide
Tips for an engaging, age-appropriate mock election that develops students' voting habits.
1 min read
A bin of "I Voted Today" stickers rests on a table at a polling place, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Stratham, N.H.
A bin of "I Voted Today" stickers rests on a table at a polling place, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Stratham, N.H.
Charles Krupa/AP
Social Studies Mock Elections in 69ý Evolve to Build Trust in Democracy
69ý use mock elections to help build voting habits early and help students understand the electoral process.
9 min read
69ý at Northside Intermediate prepare for a mock election on Nov. 8, 2016 in Opelika, Ala.
69ý at Northside Intermediate School in Opelika, Alaska, prepare for a mock election on Nov. 8, 2016.
Todd Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP
Social Studies Opinion A Year After Oct. 7, Silence Isn't an Option for Teachers
Teaching about the Israel-Hamas war can feel impossible, but two guardrails offer a path.
Eli Gottlieb
5 min read
A small plant signifying hope grows out of a crack in the pavement, casting  shadow of the large tree it will grow into. Candles burn in remembrance.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/E+/Getty Images