Diversity and Student Perceptions of Famous Americans

The Surveys

The questionnaire designed by Wineburg and Monte-Sano contained 10 blank lines, split into Part A and Part B. In Part A, they asked,

After students filled in the five lines in part A, teachers read these instructions:

While students could list either men or women in Part A, Part B restricted choices to women, a feature of the questionnaire that obviously inflated the total number of women that appeared on students' final lists.

While the sample of students was not random (a random sample would have meant that everyone in the nation who fit the sampling criteria would have had an equal chance of being surveyed), the final sample of 2,000 corresponded closely with the ethnic and racial breakdown of the 2000 U.S. census.

In surveying adults, Wineburg and Monte-Sano gathered data in 13 population centers, administering surveys in a host of venues: shopping centers, downtown pedestrian malls, hospitals, libraries, adult education classes, business meetings, street fairs, and retirement communities. The demographics of the adult sample corresponded roughly to the 2000 census.

Survey Results

Whom did these 4,000 citizens nominate as the most famous Americans in history? Of the scores of different figures students listed on their questionnaires, only five names appeared on a quarter of all lists. The top three were Black Americans: Martin Luther King, Jr. (far and away the most famous person in American history for today's teenagers), Rosa Parks (close behind), and Harriet Tubman. Although 67% of the 2,000 respondents named King, only about half as many (34%) mentioned the first White name on the list, Susan B. Anthony. According to students, the top 10 most famous Americans were (from most to least famous):

Wineburg and Monte-Sano used logistic regression to analyze patterns in students' responses. Students' geographic region had almost no influence on their responses, while gender played a somewhat larger role. But the most pronounced differences among students' responses were by race—particularly between African American and White students. For example, although King appeared on 64% of all White students' lists, he appeared on 82% of all Black students' lists. Students' race also predicted their likelihood of naming other figures in the top 10. For example, White students named every White figure at significantly higher rates than did Blacks. The differences between White and Black students can be seen in their respective top 10 lists. Five names overlap: the four African American figures and Anthony. Whereas Black students' top 10 comprises 9 Black and 1 White figure, White students' top 10 combines 6 Whites and 4 Blacks.

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