The Evolving Role of Government in Education
What are the roles of federal and state government when it comes to American education? The roles of education have evolved from historic liabilities to current liabilities. There are many laws and cases that have had an impact on American education that still has a strong influence on education today such as the debate between church and state, racial desegregation, and education finances. Other impacts as relevant are testing standards and special education programs that have arisen from influences of federal concerns. The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical and current roles that the federal and state government has on education. Other factors to include are individual cases and laws along with an analysis of the church and state debate of public education.
The federal government historical effects of American education continue to have effects on education today. It started from having no intentions of providing education to currently having limited roles. It was not of importance to include education within the American society, in fact, it was not of importance to include it in the most authoritative charter of America, the United States Constitution of America, written in 1787. The Constitution, the highest and most powerful law of America did not include education or schooling within its documentation; because it was not of concern at that time (Guthrie, 2002). This had then given the federal government limited right to be heard in American education, until the establishment of Amendments. Therefore, the roles they had many years ago are still limited, concerning the welfare and importance of education today.
Federal and state histories established meaningfu...
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--Noah webster also known as the "School Master of America", published the blue back speller to teach students about the U.S becoming America's textbook. Thomas Jefferson believed the survival of the democracy depended on the education of U.S citizens, no education for slaves, only three years for women, and only focused on finding smart white men. His ideas were considered radical. His bill for the education was defeated every time and he created the University of Virginia. His biggest belief was that public education was essential to a democracy. Horace Mann 1830-1840s, in Massuchusetts state senate, first secretary of education, and visited over 1000 schools reporting on their conditions resulting in him wanting to change public schools. He said governments have to make the changes. Through lectures and conventions he created the common schools which included everyone and was supported through taxes. He standardized al...
An institution that is large has a group of individuals or situations that shapes what it becomes. Without a doubt the American education system has had multiple examples that have shaped what it is today. There have been individuals that have placed emphasis such as Mann that brought the common school concept to light. In addition, there were landmark court cases that allowed minorities to also receive equal educations. Furthermore, there has been strong political influence over the years of American education development. This paper will focus on the importance of Horace Mann, John Dewey, the Science and Math Education Movement, and the No Child Left Behind Act.
The issue of equality in education is not a new problem. In 1787, our federal government required all territories petitioning for statehood to provide free education for all citizens. As part of this requirement, every state constitution included, “an education clause, which typically called for a “thorough and efficient” or “uniform” system of public schools” (School Funding 6). Despite this requirement, a “uniform” system of schools has yet to be achieved in this country for a variety of reasons, many of which I will discuss later on. During the early part of th...
The public’s education is mostly provided by state and local government public policies. These policies are especially important to the distribution and redistribution of opportunity. Several policies and organizations have ameliorated the education process by changing the schooling system to educate more individuals. After Sputnik, America heightened its science and mathematics programs to compete with the Soviet Union. The federal government has also used education to promote equality of opportunity (through its support of racial desegregation). During the Reagan administration, the government focused on the pursuit of higher standards, rather than equality of opportunity. The government has also funded higher education and opened more doors to Americans to achieve a plethora of educational
The issues surrounding education have not always been easy to identify. Year after year, the structure of American education keeps changing from one standard to the next. It focuses mainly on the needs of society as a whole, and not specifically the aspirations of the individual which is most evident in cities full of minorities. Public school education in urban cities clearly depicts the struggle of having limited choices, because of their poor status. Consequently, conflicts arise and have become vividly clear. These problems can be identified by the limitations on contradicting values, the effects of segregation, the impact of dull textbooks, and the influence money has on American education.
Education was believed to have also been a key to self-advancement in this society. Education then became important for political means, the social good, and the individual good of citizens, states, and the United States as a whole. With the creation of a new education bill and the building of new schools, Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that providing education was “the most certain, and the most legitimate engine of government” as the people are “the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty” (Urban, 2009, p. 83). While many theories of educational systems were proposed during this time, schools were ultimately created at the local level by small groups of individuals.
In theory, responsibility for operating the public education system in the US is local. In fact, much of the local control has been superseded, and state legislation controls financing methods, academic standards, and policy and curriculum guidelines. Because public education is separately developed within each state, variations exist from one state to another.
The funding of public education has long been an issue for the state government of Texas. Starting before Texas was even a state, public education funding was at the forefront of politicians’ minds. In 1836, one of the reasons Anglo-Texans wanted to become independent from Mexico was Mexico’s lack of a public school system (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). This drove the desire of President Mirabeau B. Lamar of the Republic of Texas to create legislation that would grant public schools land (A Brief History of Public Education, n.d.). This act set aside four leagues of land per county for the use of free education centers and thus began the funding of public education by the state government (An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas, 2016). In the last 177 years, the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency have created numerous acts and laws regarding the funding of education, but it has been in the last 50 years that this topic has become highly contested, resulting in several lawsuits and endless efforts (by the school districts) to equalize the distribution of funds to Texas school districts (Texas School Finance History, n.d.). In sum, the complex issues and policies that surround the funding of public education are derived from a combination of the legislature, bureaucratic agencies, and local governments in the form of school districts.
Education is one of the cornerstones and pillars to the establishment and preservation of democracy. In history, countless scores of philosophers and political thinkers believed that only an educated citizenry can take on the quintessential task of upholding democracy. Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “an informed citizenry is the only true repository of the public will.” A renowned defender of public education, Jefferson proposed plans for an education system that included grammar schools in his presidency. As a result of these relentless policies for education, the United States expanded on the concept of public instruction through the establishment and upkeep of a practical education system. The United States continued this tradition and established a reputation as one of the best education in the world. Currently, this is no longer valid as other countries such as Finland, China, and South Korea are competing for the dominant position through rigorous reforms that aim to boost student performances (“Best Education”). Meanwhile, the American system is inefficient, inhibited by political obstacles and gridlock while Finland, the top ranked country in terms of schooling, is continuing to improve. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) examinations that tested pupils across a variety of subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science of 2009, Finland’s students were ranked among the top (“PISA 2009”). The American students were ranked below average for industrialized countries in the world, revealing the reality of the educational crisis in the country. Finland’s education system, compared to the Americans, offers major differences that greatly ...
Dr. Mason said that it is the states that provide for education. He said, “In the first state constitution of Massachusetts, past revolution in 1780, John Adams wanted in the state constitution a provision which you would create mandatory public education for our children” (NWOSU, 2010). The constitution over in Costa Rica has several areas that deal with public education. It establishes that public education is a function and at least six percent of the nation’s growth has to be devoted to the public education system of primary and secondary schools, said Dr. Carvajal, (NWOSU, 2010). This means that all of the funding and decisions in regards to public education come from the national government. The U.S. is different, because the states and local have a large
All over the world, people have always sought for power, they have struggled to defend their culture; they have worked beyond imaginable to obtain economic prosperity and political freedom. A matter of fact equality is something that nowadays we are still fighting to obtain. Education has always been the key to power. In the twenty-first century education means a way to obtain the American dream, in other words, to achieve success. However, schools were never intended to empower people to think for themselves or to help them succeed. At the beginning of the American school, different groups of people wanted different things to come out of schooling, one of those things was to facilitate reading the bible in the text it states that “Schooling became important as a means of sustaining a well- ordered religious commonwealth” (Spring 22).
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
The American government viewed the failing educational system as the root of several of America’s most pressing issues of the time. It was felt that America’s economic repercussions were directly linked to the lack of educational rigor and relevance. They believed that the decline in educational relevance was causing the American people to lose their competitive edge in the global market economy.
Throughout the course of time, teaching, scores, and curriculum have changed to where education is mainly about “being okay” and never about actually improving; and abundant amount of people hold the theory that the government is well aware of this fact and has contributed to the continual downfall of American education in an effort to systematically decrease the competency and literacy of the American population, making them easier to manipulate and allowing the government to achieve increasingly greater power and control over the American population; as a result, Americans are being submerged in a culture that has encouraged them to become more complacent and less interested in bettering themselves which has allowed the government this power that continues to grow.
All throughout the United States for the past several years, states are “hurting because of falling state revenues,” (Emeagwali), and schools are trying to cope with tremendous budget cuts that are resulting in less funds provided for educational services. These cuts are putting pressure on everyone invested in the education system, including students, teachers and any other administration within them (qtd. in Johnson 2), and the reduced budget is not solely affecting any particular level of schooling either. All levels of education, ranging from primary learning to advanced, have been affected (Emeagwali). Additionally, it is not just one or two states having to adjust their budgets; by 2002, “at least 40 states [had] been forced to consider budget cuts,” and these cuts have taken their toll on the amount of funding designated towards educational opportunities (Feldman). As pressures hit hard on state governments, a rise in educational budget cuts has resulted in deleterious effects on the level of education provided to students. As a result, researchers and infuriated teachers and parents have begun supporting education as it is ignored by government administration.