For Immediate Release: April 15, 2023

Contact:
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235, (202) 288-9333 (cell)

Marla Koenigsknecht, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net
(202) 238-3233, (517) 803-1591 (cell)

AERA23 Study Snapshot: They Only Hate the Term: Explaining Opposition to History Curricula and Critical Race Theory

Study: "They Only Hate the Term: Explaining Opposition to History Curricula and Critical Race Theory"
Author: Jonathan Collins (Brown University)
Embargoed until: 12:01 a.m. CT Saturday, April 15

This study will be presented at the place-based component of the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.   
Session: The Politics of Divisive Concepts and Anti–Critical Race Theory Legislation
Date/Time: Saturday, April 15, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. CT

Main Findings:

• Americans, on average, express overwhelming support for antiracist curriculum, even when parental consent is not required.
   
• When the literal term “Critical Race Theory” is presented, support drops from 76 percent to 57 percent, with support falling across all demographic groups.

Details:

• The author measured support for anti-racist curriculum in the United States by fielding a series of national surveys in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
   
• Through survey research firm Prolific, the author started by contacting 1,273 respondents from July 30 to August 2, 2020, and 983 respondents from January 21 to January 26, 2021.
   
• Half the respondents were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “All schools should feature curriculum that teaches kids about the history of racism in the United States.” The other half were presented with a version that added a premise that schools would feature this curriculum regardless of whether parents gave consent.
   
• To test the link between antiracist curriculum and racial politics, the author also presented survey participants with the following language: “I oppose the summer protests that occurred in reaction to unarmed African Americans being killed by police officers.”
   
• The second wave of respondents were also asked how much they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “I oppose the protests that led to the U.S. Capitol being raided and damaged on January 6, 2021.”
   
• The results indicated that Americans, on average, overwhelmingly supported antiracist curriculum. About 80 percent of participants in both surveys expressed some level of support for antiracist curriculum, with the results remaining virtually unchanged over the two versions.
   
• Respondents who were presented with the parental consent clause were equally likely to support antiracist curriculum in 2020 and only 3 percentage points less likely to support it in 2021.
   
• Parents were no less likely to support antiracist curriculum than were nonparents.
   
• White respondents were also no less likely to support antiracist curriculum than people of color, once ideological differences and views toward major political events were accounted for. This finding indicates that one’s position on racialized political events largely dictates support or opposition toward antiracist curriculum.
   
• In 2022, the author surveyed 1,509 respondents from March 11 to March 13, this time adding language about critical race theory for half of the sample. Among those who were asked the original question, without mention of critical race theory, support for antiracist curriculum was still high—at 76 percent.
   
• Except for those identified as liberal, this small drop was consistent across demographic groups. The biggest drop was among Republicans, who were 8 percentage points less likely to support antiracist curriculum in 2022 than in 2021. Despite the small overall decline across groups, Republicans were still the only group in 2022 to have less than a majority express support for antiracist curriculum.
   
• When respondents were presented with the term “Critical Race Theory,” support dropped to 57 percent, with every single demographic group noticeably less likely to support antiracist curriculum.
   
• At the high end, support among Democrats and liberals fell from 94 percent to 79 percent and 95 percent to 79 percent, respectively. At the low end, support among Republicans and conservatives fell from 44 percent to 15 percent and from 50 percent to 22 percent, respectively. Support among Blacks fell from 85 percent to 74 percent.
   
• “In the midst of the exploding culture war and the ongoing civics education debate, it is encouraging that there is still strong support for antiracist teaching in schools,” said paper author Jonathan Collins, an assistant professor of political science, public policy, and education at Brown University. “The challenge going forward will be decoupling it in the public’s mind with highly politicized terms such as critical race theory.”

To request a copy of the working paper, or to talk to the study author, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Marla Koenigsknecht, Communications Associate, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net, cell: (517) 803-1591.

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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.