2019 American Teacher Panel Civic Education Survey: Technical Documentation

Abstract

The RAND Corporation, a nonpartisan research organization, is engaged in an effort to counter Truth Decay-"the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life." 1 As Jennifer Kavanagh and Michael Rich wrote in their seminal report on this topic, Truth Decay is characterized by growing disagreement about what material counts as facts and evidence along with declining public trust in sources of evidence. 2 Public schools have the potential to exacerbate or counter Truth Decay by supporting students' development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to media literacy, critical thinking, and other aspects of civic education. As part of RAND's Truth Decay initiative, we administered a survey to public-school teachers about their approaches to civic education. We will issue several brief Data Notes that draw on the survey data, along with a more comprehensive report later in 2020. The purpose of this report is to supplement the other material in this series by serving as a source of technical information about the survey. RR-A112-1The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution RightsThis document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RRA112-1.