School principals, some of whom have been driven out of the profession by the ordeals of the pandemic, are now losing support from the Republican side of the political divide, new research shows.
Mask mandates, debates over how to teach about race and critical race theory, and other controversies are driving this erosion in confidence, the Pew Research Center found in a survey.
The number of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in public school principals dropped to around 50% in December from nearly 80% at the beginning of the pandemic. Some 47% of those surveyed in December said they had not too much or no confidence in principals.
Democrats’ confidence in principals has also ebbed but remains high, falling from 87% in April 2020 to 76% at the end of last year.
In December, the leading organization representing high school principals warned of a looming mass exodus of building leaders, caused by political upheaval and the ongoing challenges of COVID. Job satisfaction was at an “ultimate low” with almost four in 10 principals saying they are likely to leave the profession in the next three years, according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ survey.
“Historically marginalized communities, students of color and those who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds will be disproportionately affected by the departure of our strong and dedicated school leaders,” NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe said in December.
Masks, race and mistrust
Republican antagonism appears to be driven by pandemic precautions—such as masks and online learning—and concerns over curriculum, research by Pew and other polling organizations has revealed.
While a large majority of Democrats and Republicans agreed closing schools was necessary in March 2020, their views on K-12’s response to COVID now differs sharply. For example, Republicans said students’ academic progress and social-emotional wellbeing should be the key factors in deciding to keep schools open, not the risk of COVID infections.
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As evidenced by a recent wave of legislation, Republicans believe parents should have a lot more influence over what their children learn in school, particularly when it comes to race, the legacy of racism and LGBTQ issues.
Seven in 10 Republicans—compared to about a quarter of Democrats—said parents should have a lot of say in what their child’s school teaches, according to a Washington Post/ABC News survey.
As educators know, political disagreements over public education existed long before the pandemic. In a 2019 survey, Republicans were less likely to say schools welcomed a wide range of opinions and viewpoints.
Republican antipathy toward public schools goes beyond principals. A majority of Republicans (57%) blamed schools for “having a negative effect on the way things were going in the country,” according to a Pew survey conducted in July 2021. While Democrats strongly supported schools, Republicans also expressed a growing loss of confidence in banks, large corporations, tech companies, labor unions and other societal institutions.
