Political orientation and support for pedagogical innovation: Who resist the most?

The present research examines the relationship between political orientation and attitude towards new teaching interventions. Parents of pupils read the description of a “new teaching intervention” and reported their interest in this intervention and their support for its implementation in their children’s school. Depending on the experimental condition, the intervention was presented either as equalising the academic performance of pupils from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds (“equalising” intervention) or as maintaining them (the “maintaining” intervention). Their political orientation was also measured. Results showed that the more parents tended towards the right wing of the political scale, the less interested they were in the intervention and the less they supported its implementation in their children’s school. In addition, political orientation was related to support for the equalising intervention but not the maintaining (i.e., enhancing) intervention. The implications of these results for school change are discussed.