Teaching through crisis: U.S. teachers’ experiences in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election

This article explores how contextual factors, teaching conditions, and teacher beliefs about civic education influenced pedagogical decision-making leading up to, and in the aftermath of, the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Participants include a sub-sample of 46 teachers from a larger survey (N = 1723) on teaching about the 2020 election. We explore how participants taught about the election and its aftermath, including the “big lie” and the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. We explore how these events represent a moral and ethical trap. We found that contextual factors, such as administrative support and teacher-community value alignment, influenced pedagogical decision-making when placed in this trap. Teachers responded to stolen election claims and the events of January 6th in four ways: actively avoiding the issue, passively avoiding it or engaging minimally, engaging students in inquiry activities and guided discussion, and taking an explicit direct stance. Implications for teachers, administrators, and policymakers are explored.