Parents with kids in K-12 schools across Canada value balance rather than bias in classrooms, as well as parental involvement and consent, finds a new Leger poll commissioned by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
"With ongoing debates across Canada impacting K-12 classrooms, school policies and curriculum development, what we can glean from this parent survey is that a clear majority of parents across Canada want facts presented in classrooms rather than a teacher's interpretation or opinions," said Paige MacPherson, associate director of education studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Strong Parental Support for Balance, not Bias, and Parental Involvement in K-12 Classrooms.
The survey of parents with children in K-12 classrooms (public and independent schools) across Canada, conducted by Leger, highlights several key concerns, including the importance of parental information and consent, age-appropriate material, how schools should tackle controversial topics, and if parents should have the right to remove their children from controversial lessons without consequence.
The poll finds that 76 per cent of parents agree that students should be presented both sides of controversial issues or avoided entirely, while 91 per cent of parents think classroom material and discussions should always be age-appropriate.
Further, more than four in five (82 per cent) parents with kids in K-12 schools believe that schools should provide advance notice of controversial topics being discussed in class or during formal school activities, while seven in ten parents believe that parents should have the right to remove their child from a specific lesson on a controversial issue, with no consequence to their child's grade.
"These questions are often presented as contentious in media and politics, but this polling data shows there is a clear consensus amongst Canadian parents with kids in K-12 schools," MacPherson said.
"Parents overwhelmingly value balance, not bias. They want their kids to be taught age-appropriate facts rather than opinions and expect prior notice so they may offer informed consent about anything controversial happening in their kids' schools."
