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ERIC Number: EJ960489
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 13
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1539-9664
EISSN: N/A
The Public Weighs in on School Reform: Intense Controversies Do Not Alter Public Thinking, but Teachers Differ More Sharply than Ever
Howell, William; Peterson, Paul E.; West, Martin
Education Next, v11 n4 p10-22 Fall 2011
In this article, the authors explore the following questions: How have Americans actually responded to these developments? Have they grown more supportive of the current direction of school reform, or are there instead signs of a backlash? And how do the views of teachers compare to those of the public at large? In addition to the views of the public as a whole, the authors pay special attention in this survey to two potentially influential types of participants in school politics: the affluent and teachers. Their findings reveal more stability than change in public opinion over the five years since the "Education Next"-PEPG survey began, suggesting that the momentous policy developments of the past year were not caused by--nor have they yet produced--broad changes in popular views. The one exception to that generalization is a significant turnaround in support for school vouchers, which until this year had been in decline. The views of the affluent resemble those of the general public, except that the affluent are more likely to hold strong opinions and even larger percentages support the positions taken by a plurality of the general public. However, the well-to-do are more skeptical of online learning. They also hold the public schools in their own community in comparatively high regard, perhaps because they have better access to good public schools. Teacher opinion often diverges from that of both the affluent and the general public. (Contains 8 figures.)
Hoover Institution. Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6010. Tel: 800-935-2882; Fax: 650-723-8626; e-mail: educationnext@hoover.stanford.edu; Web site: http://educationnext.org/journal/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A