The future of the electorate is watching, and it’s teachers and social media that are influencing young peoples’ political views, according to a new survey on election knowledge from online education platform Study.com.
A snapshot of the survey findings shows:
Students are learning the most about the election process from teachers
- More than a third of students in grades 7-12 say they’ve learned the most about the election from their teachers.
- 20 percent of students in grades 7-12 say they’ve learned the most about the election from social media.
- Less than 20 percent of students in grades 7-12 report their family has taught them the most about the election process in the United States.
Social media is influencing everyone’s political beliefs
- 30 percent of students in grades 7-12 report that Instagram is the most influential social media platform on their political point of view, followed by TikTok (25 percent), Facebook (16 percent), and YouTube (15 percent)
- 33 percent of college students say Facebook is the most influential social media platform on their political point of view, trailed by Instagram (25 percent), Twitter (17 percent) and YouTube (12 percent)
- The majority of teachers (60 percent) and parents (80 percent) point to Facebook as the social media platform with the most influence on their political point of view.
For the month of October, Study.com is offering a free Teacher’s Guide to The U.S. Election, which includes videos, lesson plans and discussion questions.
Study.com Survey Says is a monthly research project conducted by Study.com to provide regular snapshots of teachers, parents and students’ perspectives on the world of learning. Study.com surveyed 231 K-12 teachers, 201 K-12 students and 146 parents from October 1-5, 2020 to examine topical issues related to education, election knowledge and the COVID Learning Cliff.
