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National Parent Survey on Children's Racial Learning
Against the troubling backdrop of a nationwide effort to suppress discussions about race and U.S. racial history in our public schools, in fall 2022 EmbraceRace commissioned a survey of 1,000 parents to 0-13 year-old children. Working with the custom market research firm, Breakthrough Research, we designed the survey to assess parents’ interest in resources and services that would help them promote healthy racial attitudes and behaviors in their children.
These findings do not speak to the specific ideas parents want their children to learn about race, nor do they touch on parents’ views on the role of schools in educating children about race and racism. Yet they reveal widespread openness and interest among parents, across racial backgrounds and even, to some degree, across the political spectrum, in helping their children learn about race and racism. Thus, the findings offer a counternarrative to political rhetoric positioning “parents’ rights” in direct opposition to open and honest teaching and learning about race. In reality, there is significant desire among parents for support in guiding children toward racial literacy.
Still, this survey highlights the gap between parents’ attitudes and their actual practice with their children, suggesting that additional support is needed to help align parents’ behaviors with their beliefs. Insights from the survey suggest several directions for work aiming to increase parents’ engagement with children around race.
Here's a tiny preview of the survey insights:
