Survey Finds Drop in Parents Saying Schools Must Teach America Is a Good Country, Rise in Support for Critical History Lessons

A survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute between February 12 and February 18 found that 42 percent of parents in 2026 said it was essential for schools to teach that America is a good country, down from 67 percent in 1998. The same poll showed that 32 percent of parents with school-aged children today would be upset if a teacher constantly criticized America’s political and economic system, compared with 50 percent three decades earlier.

U.S. History. ” Generation Z respondents were less likely than boomers to say studying the history of Christianity in America was very important. The survey compared current attitudes with those recorded in 1998 and found that parents today are more likely to support a critical approach to teaching American history and civics.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents believe Americans take their freedoms for granted. The American Enterprise Institute stated that both surveys show Americans want more to be done to teach the ideas of the Founding Fathers because they believe lessons can be drawn from them.

The organization concluded that Americans continue to wrestle with competing narratives about the country’s history and identity.