Want to Increase Political Tolerance? Support Opportunity Scholarships

by Rachel Terry

As legislators in Nebraska examine and debate school choice legislation, one question that sometimes arises is whether or not school choice programs promote good citizenship and democratic values. Some school choice programs, like the Opportunity Scholarship program, would likely increase enrollment in private schools. Some people claim that private schools, especially those operated by religious groups, fail to instill values like tolerance and civic responsibility in their students. Studies show that this simply isn’t true.

Studies Show Private Schools Are Better at Instilling Civic Values 
Research shows that students who attend private schools are more tolerant of others, more likely to vote, and more likely to volunteer in their communities that students who attend public schools.

Patrick Wolf from the University of Arkansas reviewed all existing empirical studies that compare civic values in public and private schools. The most frequently studied topic was tolerance. Students were asked to identify their “most disliked” group of people. Then they were asked whether members of that group should be allowed to hold public rallies, have books in the library sympathetic to their ideas, etc. The results of these studies are very interesting. Most studies found that private schools have the advantage over public schools in teaching tolerance, volunteerism, political knowledge, political participation, and other civic values:

Studies Comparing Civic Values in Private and Public Schools

In Wolf’s publication, “Private Schooling and Political Tolerance,” he writes, “The data speak clearly here: Students with more private education are more politically tolerant, all else being equal.”

Common Misperceptions 
The Friedman Foundation explains, “Public schools . . . are perceived as institutions where children learn good civic values. Because public schools are government-run, many people assume they must be more devoted to teaching the values of the community.” For example, social theorist Benjamin R. Barber wrote, “Public schools are not merely schools for the public, but schools of publicness: institutions where we learn what it means to be a public and start down the road toward common national and civic identity. They are the forges of our citizenship and the bedrock of our democracy.” Studies are showing, however, that public schools are less effective at being “forges of our citizenship” than private schools.

Improved Teaching = Improved Communities 
Of course, most parents are less concerned about civic values than they are about core academics. As indicated by ACT scores, private schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, are more successful at teaching core academics than public schools. As stated by the Friedman Foundation, “research shows private schools are simply better at teaching students than public schools; the same qualities that make them better at teaching subjects like math also could make them better at teaching values like tolerance.”

With Opportunity Scholarships, more Nebraska students will have the opportunity to receive educations that will prepare them better in both math and tolerance. Our state can only benefit from such an improvement.