American Historical Association Survey of U.S. History Teachers
The Survey of U.S. History Teachers is part of a larger American Historical Association (AHA) study, Mapping the Landscape of Secondary U.S. History Education, a multi-stage effort to provide a research-based grounding for ongoing civic deliberations about the teaching of U.S. history in American classrooms. The AHA’s project involves content analysis of standards and curriculum, interviews with state and local officials, and the Survey of U.S. History Teachers. The surveyed teachers are a representative sample of U.S. history teachers in nine states that AHA has worked with in initial phases of the Mapping the Landscape project. The main objective for the survey is to discover more about what is being taught in 6th-12th grade U.S. history classrooms.
The survey includes questions on key aspects of U.S. history teachers’ practices and experiences. The target population for the survey is all 6th–12th grade public school teachers of U.S. history in nine states, one state from each of the nine U.S. Census Divisions. All teachers in these states who have taught one or more U.S. history courses at any point in the current school year are eligible to participate in the survey.
The AHA will share its report, including survey findings, in 2024.
Project Leads
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Tom Hoffer
Senior FellowPrincipal Investigator -
Claudia A. Gentile
Senior FellowProject Director
FAQ
All social studies teachers who are currently teaching U.S. history in your state are being asked to complete this survey.
Participants will receive a personalized link to the web survey via email. The web survey is formatted so that it can be completed on any computer or mobile device. If you believe that you are in the study population but have not received a survey link, please contact NORC by email at ahaushistoryteachersurvey@norc.org.
Yes. The privacy of participants is critical. To make sure all teachers feel comfortable answering questions freely and candidly, all data will be completed and analyzed by NORC researchers, and no one will have access to individual response data. No one will know who responded to the survey or how anyone answered the questions. Individual identifiers will be kept by NORC under password protected files or on a secure server with restricted rights and will not be shared. Any results will be reported only in aggregate groupings so there is no method to identify individual participants or associate particular responses with any individual.
The AHA U.S. History Survey asks questions about teachers’ experiences teaching U.S. history, such as what resources teachers use, what directions teachers receive about what to teach, how do teachers see their role regarding teaching difficult or controversial topics, and how teachers frame select topics in U.S. history.
No one is required to participate. Should you choose to participate, you may skip any questions in the survey that you do not wish to answer.
The survey should take about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. If you are unable to complete it in one sitting, the survey instrument will save your spot so you can return to it later.
NORC will take steps to mask the U.S. history teacher survey data so that the identity of individuals cannot be identified. All reported data will be in aggregate in order to protect respondent confidentiality, and no individual responses will be reported. NORC will share this data file with AHA along with a final report that summarizes the results.
The American Historical Association is sponsoring the survey. They have contracted with NORC to administer the survey and collect and analyze the data.
NORC is an independent, nonprofit corporation that conducts survey research in the public interest for government agencies, educational institutions, private foundations, nonprofit organizations, and private corporations. NORC collects data to assist policy makers, researchers, educators, and others with crucial issues facing the government, organizations, and the public. Past uses of NORC’s work have included shaping public policy, drafting laws, and determining how tax dollars and other resources are utilized. For more information about NORC, please visit our website at https://www.NORC.org.
NORC is an independent, nonprofit corporation that conducts survey research in the public interest for government agencies, educational institutions, private foundations, nonprofit organizations, and private corporations. NORC collects data to assist policy makers, researchers, educators, and others with crucial issues facing the government, organizations, and the public. Past uses of NORC’s work have included shaping public policy, drafting laws, and determining how tax dollars and other resources are utilized. For more information about NORC, please visit our website at https://www.NORC.org.
