State Standards Scratch the Surface of Learning about Political Parties and Ideology. CIRCLE Working Paper #81

In this report, the authors present findings from their analysis of social studies state standards. The following questions guided their work: (1) To what extent do middle and high school (grades 8-12) history and civics state standards support teaching about political parties? For the states that do include language about political parties, what does an analysis of the standards tell us about what they expect students to learn? and (2) To what extent to do state middle and high school (grades 8-12) history and civics state standards support teaching about political ideology? For the states that do include language about political ideology, what does an analysis of the standards tell us about what they expect students to learn? The report focuses on four criteria: (1) The role that political parties play in the political system; (2) How controversial political issues map onto the political spectrum and party interests; (3) The ideological underpinnings of the two major political parties; and (4) How one's own beliefs fit within the ideological-partisan landscape. Findings indicate that, in general, state standards recognize that young people need to learn about electoral politics, and this includes learning about political parties and issues. At the same time, the standards give teachers little guidance about how deeply to wade into these waters. No state met the four criteria that the authors identified as necessary for informed engagement in electoral politics. North Carolina, Virginia and Vermont are noteworthy, because they include three of the four criteria: role of political parties, platforms, and ideological foundations. [This research was funded in part by the Gibb Democracy Education Fund.]