Postsecondary education for students with intellectual disabilities at universities and colleges in the United States

Written by esteemed legal scholar Michael L. Perlin, this indispensable Advanced Introduction examines the long-standing but ever-dynamic relationship between law and mental health. The author discusses and contextualises how the law, primarily in the United States but also in other countries, treats mental health, intellectual disabilities, and mental incapacity, giving examples of how issues such as the rights of patients, the death penalty and the insanity defense permeate constitutional, civil, and criminal matters, and indeed the general practice of law.

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Introduction: Catholic Higher Education in 1900

Contending with Modernity ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195098280.003.0004 ◽

1996 ◽

Author(s):

Philip Gleason

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

United States ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Women's Colleges ◽

The United States ◽

Turn Of The Century ◽

Catholic Higher Education ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Universities And Colleges ◽

Age Range

A great many Catholic colleges existed in the United States at the opening of the twentieth century. Exactly how many it is impossible to say with certainty because any answer presupposes agreement on the answer to a prior question: “What should be counted as a college?” The Catholic Directory for 1900 listed 10 universities, 178 “colleges for boys,” 109 seminaries, and 662 “academies for girls.” According to this count, there were no Catholic women’s colleges at that time, although the College of Notre Dame of Maryland graduated its first baccalaureate class in 1899 and is included among the 128 colleges for women listed in U.S. Commissioner of Education’s Report for 1899-1900. The same Report, however, listed only 62 Catholic institutions among the 480 included under the heading: “Universities and colleges for men and for both sexes.” No doubt some Catholic colleges simply failed to provide the information necessary to appear in the Commissioner’s Report. But their failure to do so is in itself significant; and even assuming that is what happened, it still leaves an enormous gap between the Commissioner’s figures and the 188 colleges and universities reported in the Catholic Directory. Moreover, many of the “colleges for boys” could, with equal justice, have been called academies, since elementary- and secondary-level students made up the majority of their student bodies. As the case of Notre Dame of Maryland indicates, Catholic “academies for girls” were beginning to upgrade themselves to collegiate status. Had the word college been more freely applied to non-Catholic institutions for women at an earlier date, a good many of these academies would probably have called themselves colleges long before, for they did not differ all that much from the “colleges for boys” in terms of curricular offerings and age-range of students. While the situation of Catholic institutions was particularly murky, the question “What makes a college a college?” engaged the attention of practically everyone involved in secondary and collegiate education at the turn of the century.

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Going to School in Unequal America

Making Education Work for the Poor ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190621568.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Willliam Elliott ◽

Melinda Lewis

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Postsecondary Education ◽

National Education Association ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

National Education ◽

Starting Point ◽

Education Association ◽

Developed World ◽

Great Equalizer

In the United States, the education system is more than just a mechanism for transmitting knowledge. It is the nation’s most powerful tool for creating economic opportunities and helping individuals secure a good quality of life and parents’ primary plan for securing the well-being of their children. As such, educational attainment is often touted as the proverbial “key to the kingdom” that puts those who hold it on the path to prosperity. This link between economic mobility and education sets the United States apart from much of the rest of the developed world, where most countries have strong welfare systems that allow individuals to succeed routinely without postsecondary education. This international contrast provides an important framework for understanding how the role of education aligns with how Americans see themselves and their futures. More specifically, Americans vest their hopes in education as a means of getting ahead instead of relying on a generous welfare state that ensures that “nobody is in need”—the predominant view, for example, among Europeans. Crucially, the institution of education is supposed to work equally for all Americans, regardless of their starting point. This belief in education as a force for equity as well as opportunity was ensconced in its foundations, as articulated by Horace Mann in 1848, “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of the conditions of men—the balance wheel of the social machinery.” It persists, extolled by Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration, “In America, education is still the great equalizer” and National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel, “Education is the great equalizer . . . opening doors of opportunity for all.” However, there are signs that Americans increasingly doubt the viability of these egalitarian ideals and question whether education can truly realize the promise of a better future. In 2014, only 64% of Americans reported that they still believe in the American dream.

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The Landscape of Postsecondary Education in Prison and the Influence of Second Chance Pell: An Analysis of Transferability, Credit-Bearing Status, and Accreditation

The Prison Journal ◽

10.1177/0032885518776376 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 98 (4) ◽

pp. 405-426 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erin L. Castro ◽

Rebecca K. Hunter ◽

Tara Hardison ◽

Vanessa Johnson-Ojeda

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Postsecondary Education ◽

Educational Opportunity ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

The United States ◽

Postsecondary Institutions ◽

Current Status ◽

Pilot Program ◽

Institution Type ◽

Second Chance

This article documents availability, accreditation, institution type, and geographical distribution of postsecondary education in prison across the United States. Using descriptive analysis, we report the total number of postsecondary institutions currently providing credit-bearing coursework to incarcerated people and discuss the influence of the federal Second Chance Pell Pilot Program on these findings. Focusing on issues of equity and quality, we use a critical framework to broadly assess the current status of the field and to document what constitutes postsecondary education in prison. In conclusion, we provide implications and suggestions for expanding quality postsecondary educational opportunity for incarcerated college students.

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