This essay focuses on the shifts and changes in education policy and how it is linked to the issues of social justice. The educational inequalities are closely linked to policy decisions made by the successful government and these policies reveal the underpinning values and views of the interest groups who formed and influenced it. The access to education has a profound effect on life chances and as a result of social and economic conditions changes are made to education policy.
Bartlett and Burton (2012) suggest higher education was first designed for an elitist society however, the Labour government challenged this perspective as it believed in a socially democratic society where there were opportunities for all. However Clark (2006) suggests that providing individuals with the same opportunities allows disadvantaged students to suffer the results of inequalities. Although when ‘The Dearing Report (1997)’ was introduced it opened the doors for under-represented groups to access this field within education. Due to many under-represented groups now being able to access higher education it has led to an increase in widening participations, thus to make higher education more socially just. Stephens (1990) stated however as students had to fund their own living as well as making £1,000 contribution towards fees it was feared that it would potentially deter people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds from applying to higher education. By placing the cost onto the consumer, universities were now entering the market (neo-liberalism). Ward (2009) argued that it won’t be long before students have to bear more or eventually all the costs of higher education.
Whitty (2008) argues that while the Conservatives were responsible for the marke...
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...nd the winners in this case are women due to widening of access it can be seen as a silent revolution, however the losers although they tried to enter higher education is working class students due to dropout and non-competition rates. Males can also be considered as losers as the number of men entering higher education significantly drop as the amount of women rose.
To conclude education and politics are inextricably linked and both governments adapted and amended education policy to suit their needs and values which lead to new inequalities. Without dealing with the uneven playing field highlighted the inequalities in economic, cultural and social capital that still existed. ‘The Dearing Report’ wanted to widen participation however all it seemed to do was increase the gap in between middle-class and working-class people leading to new social divisions occurring.
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 greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.
Society holds a beneficial belief that education is a very prominent source that is necessary to engage in life’s successes. Education gives one the endurance to gain knowledge and the will power to accomplish goals and reach high standards. It allows individuals to know and understand the skills of life and the values it hold. Education has a history that has been around for hundreds of years that continuously develops as education improves, but the history of equal opportunity in education must continuously improve as well. Although education is known for its good deeds, inequality still plays a significant role in education today. There are opportunities that students must receive to relinquish some inequalities that are still present in education today. There are ways to address these obstacles and also ways to contribute to advanced opportunities to make education of equality.
An outdated education system is the largest problem Michigan faces because it affects not only the present, but also the future of the state. Important issues cannot be solved, nor policies created to remedy them, if the people attempting to solve them are not equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to make informed decisions. The state cannot run itself, let alone the nation as a whole, if its’ people are uneducated. The Constitution, the very basis of our government, relies heavily on the assumption that citizens of the United States are able to make knowledgeable and well-reasoned decisions, the types of which cannot be made when a person does not receive a proper education. This proper education is unattainable when low educational funding occurs. Lowering educational funding leads to lower standardized test scores, lack of resources, and an overall poorer education (Roy 2003). Even with these results educational funding has consistently been put upon the chopping block at all levels of government. Governor Rick Snyder’s budget cuts $470 per pupil for the 2012 fiscal year, while promising only small incentives to be added when re-balancing the budget in 2013 (Resmovits 2012). Snyder’s cuts in education stand in sharp contrast to the budget and policy passed in 1994, by then Governor John Engler. Engler, along with the House and Senate, created Proposal A. This policy increased funding to all levels of education, reduced the large funding gap between poorer and richer school districts, and opened schools of choice. Proposal A was largely effective in its’ objectives, but was unable to maintain the projected budget needed to maintain efficiency due to the recession, and Michigan laws requiring education cuts when school ...
The Education system of England and Wales underwent a number of important changes since 1944. This essay seeks to concentrate on these major changes describing the rationale and impact they had on the British education system.
In addition to that, many comprehensives were streamed into ability groups, where middle-class pupils tend to dominate the higher streams. Even where ability groups were not present, Ball argued that teachers continued to label working class pupils negatively and to restrict their opportunities. More recently, both Ball and Whitty have examined how the policy of marketisation also reproduces and legitimates inequality. Marketisation is largely the result of the 1988 Education Reform Act, which reduced direct state control and introduced market forces into education so as to create competition between schools and increase parental choice. They state that marketisation reproduces inequality through exam league tables and the funding formula.
In Defense of Elitism. Summary The dominant theme in this essay appears to be this: post war social changes such as offering increased university admission promote the view of egalitarianism in education. The author’s main issue with “secondary” education is the sheer numbers of our population that the United States as a whole educates. According to Mr. Henry, the United States educates nearly thirty percent of high school graduates who go on to a four-year bachelor’s degree. He believes that the increased number of graduates has led to a workforce of mediocrity.
The assumptions that everyone can learn, and that schools have the potential to transform a country with a tradition of hatred and an unequal distribution of wealth, extend from the vision of education as a democratic practice where there is "a struggle for both change and the freedom to change" (Irwin, p. 51, 1991). The change is about transforming an exclusive, often oppressive and disempowering system into a more inclusive, equal, and equitable one that is accessible to children from ...
The critical challenge within in today’s society is that college tuition should be free or if not free, more affordable for all students. Certainly, higher education should not be considered a luxury where only the wealthy could afford, but an opportunity for all caste systems. It must be an accessible and affordable opportunity for all students in order for them to invest in their education. Higher education is important because it provides more careers to choose from than the careers offered without having a college degree. Ultimately, the issue here is whether it is right to make college tuition more affordable for the students.
The first difference you see between the middle and working class in education is the selection of primary schools as for some it is the first time they are going to enter into the academic world. At this point the family as a whole are entering into “unfamiliar worlds” (Jackson and Marsden, 1966, page 99) in the process of selecting and applying for schools. The middle class aim is to have their children go to a successful school with a good Ofsted report just like the working class. However it is harder for the working class to get into these schools due to a range of factors. Some of these restricting factors are their knowledge of the system and economic status or wealth; they may not have the facilities for tra...
The argument for free higher education is not only an economic issue but a moral one as well. Currently, social mobility in the United States is at or clos...
“Social Justice in Education” by R. W. Connell discusses the role of education in society and the implications that social justice issues have on education. Connell begins by establishing that education and social justice can be examined separately yet they are inescapably linked through the social medium of their implementation. “Education concerns schools, colleges and universities, whose business is to pass knowledge on to the next generation. Social justice is about income, employment, pensions or physical assets like housing.”(Connell, 1993) Three points validating the equal importance of social justice and the education system to people of all delineations are: 1.) in Western society public schools are key forums of social interaction and comprise some of the largest social institutions 2.) educational institutions are highly economic bodies and have become “major public assets” (Connell, 1993) 3.) teaching becomes a vehicle by which society is ultimately determined and has a great influence over society’s morality. Connell describes the meaning of justice in education as being “a question of fairness in distribution… equality.”(Connell, 1993) “Justice cannot be achieved by distributing the same… standard good to… all social classes.”(Connell, 1993) By stating this, Connell summarizes that in the attempt to achieve equality, unequal means must be employed.
This essay will explore the relationship between education and society from a sociological perspective, the topics I have chosen to explore is Marxism, functionalism, education and class, feminism and the last topic is a very general topic which enhances our understanding of sociology and the world we live in. I chose the topics above as they offer an interesting viewpoint of education and sociology; also the topics above interlink this makes it easier to understand the contributions from a sociological perspective. Furthermore, to enhance my understanding of the topics I have found readings from other modules which offer a different perspective of education and society this will enable me to answer the question much more concisely as other viewpoints can challenge the topics I have stated above.
Whitty, G. (2001) Education, social class and social Exclusion. Journal of Education Policy, 16(4) pp 287-295.