It may be time for Utahns to go back to school, at least for one class. According to a survey conducted by Utah Valley University, Utahns earned a “D” grade on civics knowledge.

The survey, which was conducted by Dr. Jay DeSart, chair of UVU’s Department of History and Political Science, asked 942 Utah adults a series of questions and opinion statements regarding the U.S. Constitution, political system, public policy, as well as assorted political leaders from around the world.

When the survey was conducted in fall 2021, 57% of respondents could identify the three branches of government, 37% identified the freedom of religion as a right guaranteed by the First Amendment and only 18% were able to identify freedom of the press as one of these rights. Additionally, only 20% of those surveyed knew John Roberts is the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

“The results, though slightly better than the national average, point to the concerning state of civics knowledge in the state of Utah,” reads a press release.”The results also reveal an alarming erosion of trust in civic institutions among Utahns.”

A second survey examined how Utah’s K-12 educators teach civics in the classroom. This survey was conducted in January 2022 by UVU Center for Constitutional Studies researchers. They asked over 500 social studies and fourth- and fifth-grade teachers, who taught either Utah or U.S. history, the following questions:

• What civics knowledge, skills and dispositions are being taught?
• What incentives and disincentives exist for the teaching of civics?
• How, if at all, do state and district standards affect civics instruction?
• What resources are most needed by civics teachers?

Ultimately, the results from this second survey appear to be mostly positive. They show that these teachers feel a personal responsibility to educate students, and prepare them to vote in the future.

“They [teachers] understand the importance of civics, strive to make time for it, and, despite reporting misaligned incentives and time constraints, work hard to prioritize it in their classrooms.” reads a press release. “In terms of content, they focus on the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, early constitutional ideas, and modern constitutional ideas. However, they also described a dearth of resources, lack of support, and limited time.”

Elementary school teachers in particular responded that they are desperate for resources, including access to unbiased teaching materials and personal development on learning how to teach controversial topics.

Both surveys are part of UVU’s Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative, which was created by the Utah Legislature in 2021 in order to promote civic awareness and civility.

“The two surveys point to a concerning, yet puzzling, gap between Utah teachers’ commitment to civics instruction and both the inability to recall basic civics facts and the dwindling faith in civics institutions among Utah’s adult population,” said Scott Paul, CCS director, in a press release. “It is critical that we understand this gap and its causes. As a university community, we look forward to partnering with concerned citizens and community organizations to increase civic awareness, improve civics dispositions, and help restore civility to civic discourse.”

Full reports on the two surveys can be found at http://uvu.edu/ccs/.

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