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A majority of U.S. parents hold traditional, conservative views on whether gender identity should be taught in schools, according to a new Pew Research Center study that also found that most public school teachers embrace traditional views on the subject, too.
The survey of Americans and public school teachers found that 68 percent of parents of K-12 students either believe children should not learn about gender identity in school (37 percent) or should learn that gender “is determined by sex at birth” (31 percent). Less than one-third of parents believe students should learn that gender can be different than the birth sex (31 percent).
This traditional view even is affirmed by 49 percent of Democratic/Democratic-leaning parents (28 percent believe it should not be taught and 21 percent say kids should learn that gender is determined by sex at birth) — although a majority of white Democratic parents hold the opposite position, with 64 percent believing children should be taught that gender can be different from birth. (Black and Hispanic Democratic parents differ from white Democratic parents on the subject).
Meanwhile, public school teachers hold traditional views on the subject, too.
Pew found that 64 percent of K-12 teachers either believe children should not be taught about gender identity (50 percent) or believe they should be taught that gender is determined by “the sex they were assigned at birth” (14 percent). One-third of public school teachers (33 percent) believe children should be taught it can be “different from the sex they were assigned at birth.”
Those traditional views are held by elementary, middle school and high school teachers.
For example, 73 percent of public school elementary teachers believe gender identity either should not be taught (62 percent) or that children should be taught gender is determined by the sex at birth (11 percent). This traditional view is affirmed by 61 percent of public school middle school teachers (45 percent say it should not be taught and 16 percent say kids should be taught that gender is determined by the sex at birth). The traditional view is also held by 48 percent of high school teachers — a plurality (35 percent say it should not be taught and 15 percent say high schoolers should learn that gender is determined by the sex at birth). A total of 45 percent of high school teachers say high school students should be taught that gender can be “different from the sex they were assigned at birth.”
Pew released the report Feb. 22.
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
