Dems and GOP Split over How Schools Should Reopen
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 09/01/20
While
most Republicans would prefer that fall classes be in person,
Democrats feel even more strongly that they should be remote. That
finding comes from a recent
poll
conducted by Ipsos
on behalf of NPR.
The poll surveyed 1,115 U.S. adults on July 30-31.
Overall,
66 percent of respondents said they'd choose remote school. However,
while 87 percent of Dems sided with online education, just 41 percent
of Republicans did. Among independents, 68 percent would choose
remote education.
The
same survey found that six in 10 Americans supported a "single,
national strategy for when schools could reopen."
Teachers
similar party division. A poll
by NPR and Ipsos among 505 teachers
conducted July 21-24 found that more than four in five (82 percent)
were worried about returning to school in person. Two-thirds (66
percent) said their preference was to teach online. However, by party
affiliation, the difference was dramatic; while 82 percent of
teachers who are Democrats said they'd prefer remote learning, just
49 percent of teachers who are Republican chose that as their
preference too.
The
younger the teacher, the more likely she or he was to choose remote
learning. While 58 percent of those 55 and older would choose
distance learning, the share was 62 percent among teachers ages 35 to
54 and 74 percent among those 18 to 34.
Most
teachers (84 percent) said they'd have difficulty enforcing physical
distancing among students. At the same time, the researchers reported
that 55 percent said they couldn't properly do their jobs online.
Eighty-four percent expressed concerns that online learning created
"gaps in opportunities" for students. And a similar share
(83 percent) were concerned about making connections with students
they've never met when online classes begin in the fall.
Additional
results for both the teacher
and general
population
surveys are openly available on the NPR website.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.