A recent national NBC News poll sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to advancing democracy, reveals that 80% of Americans believe the United States puts too little emphasis on civic education, or the teaching of government and democracy.

Civic Education and Democracy

The poll of 3,000 adults nationwide found that a majority (51%) said the country’s focus on civic education is much too little. This sentiment cuts across ideological and generational lines: 87% of progressives and 84% of conservatives say there is too little educational focus on civics.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the people who felt most strongly that teaching in this area was insufficient were those who most closely follow public affairs — 84% of those highly-engaged Americans said the nation’s focus on civic education was too little, versus 69% of those who do not follow public affairs.

Trust in Institutions

At the same time, Americans showed a distrust in institutions, including their government. Just 12% of adults nationwide said they have confidence in Congress, and only 18% said they have confidence in the federal government. Views of local government were slightly higher, but only 27% expressed confidence.

The national news media also received poor marks, with only 11% citing confidence. However, just more than a third of Americans expressed confidence in colleges and universities. Similarly, 30% expressed confidence in public schools, a level of confidence that has remained relatively unchanged since 2000.

Americans are also evenly split on a question that goes to the heart of constitutional democracy— checks and balances versus concentrated executive power. When asked whether the country needs strong executive leadership to try to solve problems directly without the input of Congress and the Supreme Court, 48% of adults said they agreed with that position, while 48% said that it was dangerous.

Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.