ERIC Number: ED671930
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Aug
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
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Available Date: 0000-00-00
Who Wants to Reopen Schools in a Pandemic? Explaining Public Preferences Reopening Schools and Public Compliance with Reopening Orders during the COVID-19 Pandemic. EdWorkingPaper No. 21-448
Jonathan E. Collins
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the decision to reopen schools for in-person instruction has become a highly salient policy issue. This study examines what overall factors drive public support for schools re-opening in person, and whether members of the public are any more or less willing to comply with school re-opening decisions based on their own preferences and the level of government from which the order comes. Through two rounds of national surveys with an embedded experiment, I find consistent evidence that 1) trust in information from elites -- not contact with COVID -- best explain preferences for reopening, 2) political ideology and racial and class identification help explain preferences as well, and 3) the President of the United States is best positioned to generate compliance with a school reopening mandate. However, low public trust in the president makes the public significantly less likely to comply. This study suggests that politics -- not public health -- drives public support for schools reopening and compliance with government orders to reopen.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, School Closing, Public Opinion, In Person Learning, Compliance (Legal), Preferences, Trust (Psychology), Political Affiliation, Racial Differences, Social Class, Presidents, Politics of Education
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
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Language: English
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Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
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