Americans Present an Education Agenda for the Next President in the 56th Annual PDK Poll
The 56th PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward Public Schools finds that Americans’ top educational priorities include the preparation of students to enter the workforce (84%) and the attraction and retention of good teachers in public schools (81%). Other top priorities include an increased focus on student mental health (73%), helping students who have fallen behind academically (72%) and college affordability (70%).
Two other priorities attract smaller majority support for increased federal attention: protecting students from discrimination (58%) and the availability of public pre-kindergarten programs (56%, rising to 67% among public school parents). Just 35% call for an increased focus on the expansion of charter schools.
“Public support for quality educational outcomes for students that lead to employment, coupled with support for having quality teachers in every classroom, are priorities that candidates from either party in our upcoming election should know are supported by the American public,” said James Lane, Ed.D., chief executive of PDK International. “It’s refreshing to recognize that both the general public and public
school parents recognize the need for communities to attract and retain the best for strong educational outcomes.”
60% of Americans do not support their children pursuing a career in teaching
The 56th PDK Poll repeated questions from past polls to gauge support for students choosing a teaching career. Sixty percent of Americans would not support their child to take up teaching in the public schools as a career. That is consistent with results from a similar question asked on the 2022 PDK Poll— yet far from the 75% of Americans who supported their child becoming a teacher when the question first was asked in 1969. Among the six in ten who would not want their child to teach in the public schools, most cite inadequate pay and benefits (33%) or a lack of student discipline (27%) as the primary reasons why. The rest split between saying the job of a teacher is thankless (17%), that they’re concerned about school safety (13%), or that the job is too demanding (9%).
Many Americans support use of AI in certain educational applications
Another topic addressed in this year’s poll was the use of artificial intelligence in schools. More than 60% of Americans support the use of AI to prepare lesson plans for teachers’ review and use, to tutor students via interactive computer applications, and to have students practice taking standardized tests. There was far less support for using AI to help students prepare homework (43%).
More than half of Americans support a candidate who will increase funding for public schools
In terms of the upcoming election, 61% of Americans prefer a candidate for office who supports increased public school funding. This peaks at 82% among liberals, 79% percent among Democrats, and roughly seven in ten among Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and public school parents. It’s lowest among conservatives (40%), Republicans (47%), and rural residents (51%).
Public education is a significant election issue for many Americans, especially for public school parents. Fifty-four percent overall say the issue of public education will be extremely (25%) or very (29%) important in their vote for president; that rises to 70% among public school parents, including 31% who say it is extremely important.
Political divide reflected in support of major-party candidates
This year’s poll also asked Americans how President Biden was handling education policy. PDK included the same question in our 2020 poll about then-President Trump. Forty-five percent of Americans approve of how Biden is handling education policy, while 50% disapprove. This closely approximates attitudes about Donald Trump’s performance on education policy in the 2020 PDK Poll 45% approving versus 53% disapproving. At the time the poll was conducted, prior to President Biden dropping out of the race, Biden had a slight lead over Trump, thirty-six versus 31%, in trust to handle education, with 25% not trusting either candidate.
The 2024 PDK Poll was produced by Langer Research Associates with data collected June 21 through July 1, 2024, in English and Spanish, among a representative, random national sample of 1,009 adults. Polling data was collected both before and after the June debate between President Biden and former President Trump, and before President Biden chose to not seek re-election.
To read the full report of the 56th Annual Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward Public Schools, visit www.pdkpoll.org.
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