Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322527 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11965
Publisher: 
CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
Curricula impart knowledge, instill values, and shape collective memory. Despite growing public funding for religious schools through U.S. school choice programs, little is known about what they teach. We examine textbooks from public schools, religious private schools, and home schools, applying computational methods -- including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools -- to measure the presence and portrayal of people, topics, and values over time. Despite narratives of political polarization, our findings reveal few meaningful differences between public school textbooks from Texas and California. However, religious school textbooks have less female representation, feature lighter-skinned individuals, and portray topics like evolution and religion differently. Over one-third of pages in each collection convey character values, with a higher proportion in religious school textbooks. Important similarities also emerge: all textbook collections rarely include LGBTQIA+ discussion, portray females in more positive but less active or powerful contexts than males, and depict the U.S. founding era and slavery in similar contexts.
Subjects: 
curricula
education policy
religious education
public school education
diversity and inclusion in education
artificial intelligence tools
computational social science
content analysis
JEL: 
I20
I21
I28
J15
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.