March 20, 2003
Report & Analysis · Other Poll Releases
The latest Peach State Poll reveals that although Georgians rank foreign language low in importance when compared with traditional subjects, there is a high level of support for foreign language classes in the public school curricula. Seventy-eight percent of Georgians either strongly support or somewhat support foreign language courses in elementary school. Georgians cite increasing diversity in the United States as the primary reason for learning a foreign language, followed closely by the desire to be able to communicate with others.
The Peach State Poll is a statewide quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Georgians generally see math and English as the most important subjects taught in public schools. Thirty-five percent of Georgians believe English and literature to be the most important subject while 33 percent indicated that math is the most important. Ten percent cited history as the single most important subject, ranking it considerably lower than English and math but much higher than science or humanities.
Other survey results:
* Support for foreign language in high schools varies greatly by race. Seventy-five percent of Black respondents indicated that students in Georgia's high schools should be required to take a foreign language, compared with 57 percent of White respondents.
* Georgians are also concerned with knowledge of the state's history. Eighty-one percent of respondents report being very or somewhat concerned that people do not know much about state history. Additionally, 80 percent of Georgians believe that high school students should be required to take a course on Georgia state history.
* An overwhelming majority of those polled, 82 percent, believe that Georgia should have a state history museum. In addition, 86 percent of respondents said they would be very interested or somewhat interested in visiting such a museum.
* The state of the economy is also on Georgians' minds. The majority of Georgians, 69 percent, rate economic conditions as either fair or poor. In addition, 53 percent of respondents state that economic conditions in Georgia are getting worse.
These data are taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between December 13 and December 21, 2002. The poll included 800 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/- 3.5 percent.
