Inadequate for democracy: How (not) to distribute education

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-365
Author(s):  
Alexandra Oprea
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Democratic Education ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Democratic Deliberation ◽  
Educational Achievements ◽  
Widespread Agreement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Democratic Equality

There is widespread agreement among philosophers and legal scholars that the distribution of educational resources in the US is unjust, but little agreement about why. An increasingly prominent view posits a sufficientarian standard based on the requirements of democratic citizenship. This view, which I refer to as democratic sufficientarianism, argues that inequalities in educational resources or opportunities above the threshold required for democratic citizenship are morally unobjectionable if and only if all children are provided with an education sufficient to meet those demands. In the article, I argue that democratic sufficientarianism faces a democratic education dilemma. Either the philosopher specifies a precise and demanding threshold with antidemocratic implications, or she insists upon democratic equality irrespective of educational achievements, thereby undercutting the search for anything but a minimal educational threshold. As an alternative, I defend a new sufficientarian standard that is reflexive, education-specific, and democracy-compatible. This reflexive sufficientarian standard can act as a guide to democratic deliberation about education policy. The article also sketches possibilities for litigation on behalf of children who have received insufficient primary education.

NCLB and Its Wake: Bad News for Democracy

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
David E. Meens ◽  
Kenneth R. Howe
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Local Control ◽  
Democratic Education ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Social Difference ◽  
Context Of Learning ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Diverse Context

Background Local control has historically been a prominent principle in education policy-making and governance. Culminating with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), however, the politics of education have been nationalized to an unprecedented degree, and local control has all but disappeared as a principle framing education policymaking. During the same period, policies imposed upon locales by state and federal governments have shifted from an emphasis on equity to accountability. Purpose This paper examines what the eclipse of local control through NCLB and related policies means for democracy. Research Design Drawing upon contemporary normative democratic theory, we distinguish two dimensions of democracy that are at issue—democratic policymaking and democratic education—and conclude that the effect of NCLB has been to frustrate democracy along both of these dimensions. Findings In terms of democratic policymaking, we argue that NCLB oversteps the boundaries that may be legitimately imposed upon local participation in policymaking on the basis of democratic principles. In terms of democratic education, we show how NCLB undermines both the content and the context of schooling likely to inculcate the skills, knowledge, and dispositions required for meaningful participation in democratic politics. Conclusions Based upon this analysis, we offer a set of guidelines to aid in the assessment of future federal education policy vis a vis democracy. First, reform efforts should embrace a participatory model for engaging local communities. Second, curriculum standards adopted by states and locales should include a conscious and substantive focus on developing the deliberative skill and dispositions required of democratic citizenship. Third, efforts must be made to keep individuals and organizations that receive public funds accountable to the public through democratic procedures. Fourth, reform efforts must seek ways to more adequately and equitably finance schools. Fifth, the goal of better integrating schools across important categories of social difference should be revitalized in order to help ensure access to equal educational opportunities and the diverse context of learning that all students need for the inculcation of democratic character.

Alsatian versus Standard German: Regional Language Bilingual Primary Education in Alsace

Multilingua ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Anne Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Original Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Regional Language ◽  
Written Form ◽  
Globalized World ◽  
Special Case

AbstractThis article examines the current situation of regional language bilingual primary education in Alsace and contends that the regional language presents a special case in the context of France. The language comprises two varieties: Alsatian, which traditionally has been widely spoken, and Standard German, used as the language of reference and writing. The advantages of learning Standard German have been highlighted by language-in-education policy-makers: as well as being the written form of the regional language, German is promoted as the most widely spoken language in the European Union, the language of neighbouring countries, an asset in the search for employment and an aid to learning another powerful language in our increasingly globalized world, namely English. Nevertheless, Alsatian can be, and in some cases is being, employed in the classroom, although it remains in a minority position in comparison to Standard German. Based on original research undertaken in the region, the article aims to explore current classroom practices, which are sometimes found to be incongruous with official language-in-education policy. It analyses the language attitudes of parents and considers the effect of these attitudes on the promotion of Alsatian and Standard German. Practices and attitudes in city and small town locations are compared to evaluate the influence of urban and peri-urban settings. As the transmission of Alsatian is no longer guaranteed in the home, the article investigates whether the school can promote this traditional, non-standardized regional variety alongside the dominant standard languages, and whether parents wish for this to happen.

scholarly journals Impact Assessment of Devolution Paradigm in Primary Education Sector: Policy Initiatives and Budgetary Allocations in Punjab Province

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-124
Author(s):  
Raheel Abbas ◽  
Muhammad Asghar ◽  
Rashid Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Punjab Province ◽  
The Impact

The study aims to empirically testify the devolution intervention in the budgetary allocations of the primary education sector of the Punjab province. It addresses the question; whether devolution intervention has an impact on primary education policy and input indicators or not? This study is based on Content Analysis to derive a meaningful conclusion about policy interventions. The budgetary interventions are verified by Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Descriptive Discriminant Analysis (DDA) to measure the impact of devolution intervention. The analysis shows that there is no mere shift in policy initiatives and budgetary allocations. However, the primary education sector is relatively better as compared to the pre-devolution period but still, a lot of interventions are required for further improvement.  

Policy Coherence for Development

2014 ◽  
pp. 213-232
Author(s):  
Bruno Lule Yawe
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
School System ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Universal Primary Education ◽  
Health In All Policies ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Initial Decrease

The elimination of school fees at Uganda's primary education level was accelerated by the 1996 first direct presidential elections. Since the inception of the universal primary education in 1996 and its actual operationalization in 1997, universal primary education is synonymous with primary education. Because school fees were eliminated before infrastructural improvements in the school system had been undertaken, the access shock created by the elimination of fees resulted in a substantial initial decrease in resources available per pupil and a large increase in the pupil-teacher ratio. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the policy incoherencies as well as research or knowledge gaps relating to Uganda's primary education. Nevertheless, what happens in other sectors outside the education sector has strong implications for the realization of the universal primary education objectives. Uganda's universal primary education policy is being undermined by policies within the education sector and policies in other sectors. As such, there is need to mainstream universal primary education into all relevant sectoral policies using the Education-In-All-Policies Approach, which would be in the nature of the Health-In-All Policies Approach as well as the Gender-In-All-Policies Approach.

Gezinsprofielen, Voor- en Vroegschoolse Stimulerings-Activiteiten en Schoolsucces

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 65-76
Author(s):  
Roel van Steensel
Keyword(s):  
Early Intervention ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Family Characteristics ◽  
Intervention Programs ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Educational Achievements ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Based ◽  
At Home

In order to prepare children from disadvantaged backgrounds for primary education, early intervention programs are used. Generally, a distinction is made between two types of intervention activities: those which are conducted at home (family-based activities) and those which are conducted in, for example, preschools (center-based activities). This research project tries to establish whether there is a relation between participation in early intervention activities and the educational achievements of 119 pupils from the cities of Tilburg and Waalwijk. A comparison is made between four groups of children: a group that took part in the family-based program Opstap Opnieuw, a group that went to preschool, a group that did both, and a control group. The performances of these four groups are followed during the first years of primary education. In addition, an estimate is made of the influence of family characteristics on the effectiveness of both types of intervention activities.

The odd malaise of democratic education: Horace Mann, Amy Gutmann and the inordinate influence of business

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 1075-1116
Author(s):  
Brian Ford
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Democratic Education ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Historical Materialist ◽  
The Us ◽  
Sources Of Authority ◽  
Amy Gutmann

This article is the third of three on “Sources of Authority in Education.” All use the work of Amy Gutmann as a heuristic device to describe and explain the prevalence of market-based models of education reform in the US and the business-influenced Global Education Reform Movement. The other two are “Negating Amy Gutmann: Deliberative Democracy, Business Influence and Segmentation Strategies in Education” and “Neoliberalism and Four Spheres of Authority in American Education: Business, Class, Stratification and Intimations of Marketization.” All three are intended to be included together as chapters of my Democratic Education and Markets: Segmentation, Privatization and Sources of Authority in Education Reform. The “Negating Amy Gutmann” article looks primarily at deliberative democracy. The “Neoliberalism and Four Spheres of Authority” article, considers its main theme to be the promise of egalitarian democracy and how figures ‘such as Horace Mann, John Dewey and Gutmann’ have argued it is largely based on the promise of public education. It thus begins with a consideration of what might be called a partial historical materialist analysis – the growth of inequality in the US (and other countries) since the 1970s that correlates with much of the basis for changes in the justifications and substance of education reform. The present article, “The Odd Malaise of Democratic Education and the Inordinate Influence of Business,” continues the argument by offering some historical background and comparisons and ends by considering what happens to the philosophy of education when democracy and capitalism are at odds. It thus starts with recent history, looking at how the content and context of educational policy have changed in the US since Gutmann wrote in the 1980s. Specifically, it concerns itself with the increasing prevalence of twin notions: that our system of education must be reformed because of global competition and that the educational system should emulate the market. The article then goes back a little bit further, to the origins of the common school in the 1600s and Horace Mann’s articulation of the principles behind public education, which are shown to be in stark contrast to Education Reform. The narrative describes how the standards movement, variously, coalesced around George H. W. Bush’s America 2000 and Bill Clinton’s Goals 2000 programs, was reflected in a ‘21st-century schools’ discourse, found programmatic form in George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and it’s offspring, Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top. All of the preceding were, to a shocking degree, based on misleading and selective statistical analysis and sets goals that are unreachable even in the best of all possible worlds. The article concludes by considering paradigm change in education and its causes; I draw on both Peter Hall’s exposition of social learning 1 and Antonio Gramsci’s conceptualization of hegemony. 2

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