Chapter Summary

Education has been assigned many roles through the years, but perhaps none has been more important than that assigned by Thomas Jefferson-to prepare a people for happiness and life within a free society. There is no greater calling than that of becoming an effective citizen. Certainly, education is essential in a complex society.

Unfortunately, attainment does not always match aspiration, although levels of attainment have been increasing in this country. By the fall of 1997, more than one-fourth of all U.S. residents were enrolled in a school program leading to a diploma or degree. Precisely how this pays off is not clear, yet it can be argued that there are positive correlations between education on the one hand and political participation, understanding, income, and some indicators of happiness on the other hand. Some interpretive caution is advisable, though, for education does create some dissatisfactions as well as fulfillments. The greater amount of happiness reported by the better educated may reflect a tendency toward greater fulfillment of potential, but investment in education may lead to frustration or disappointment when expected gains do not result. In terms of attainment and payoff, there remains inequality between the sexes, the races, and the different socioeconomic strata.

Ideally, education performs a number of valued functions that enhance the quality of life for Americans. Education is a problem because there are inequalities, and the expected payoff does not always occur. In addition to an inequality of attainment, there is inequality of opportunity, and these inequalities contradict our value of education and our ideology of equal opportunities for all. Most Americans, including most social scientists, would affirm the ideal of equal educational opportunity for all, but this is myth rather than fact. There is inequality of attainment in terms of education; there is unequal funding regarding the cost of education; and there is inequality involving the atmosphere of schools. Some atmospheres are conducive to learning, while others inhibit the process. One frequently heard criticism is that education is boring. Perhaps even worse than the rigidity that precludes individual schedules of learning is the atmosphere of fear in which some students must function. Another condition that exists in many American classrooms is ritualized deprivation. One of our expectations about education is that it will pay off in terms of upward mobility, but this sometimes turns out to be a "great training robbery." During the 1980s and 1990s, a series of reports have criticized American education at every level, and all of the reports suggest that our educational system is marred by mediocrity.

The authors observe that the problems of education are only partially a problem of the schools. A part of the answer lies with the structure and processes of the educational system, but a greater part lies in factors outside the schools. There is a relationship between social class, family background, and educational inequality. Among the social structural factors contributing to the problems of education, social class and family are particularly important. Socioeconomic status is one of the prime factors in unequal educational achievement. The organization of education also contributes to inequality--children who are disadvantaged by their social background when they enter school become even more disadvantaged as they progress through school. The social background of the student has much to do with academic achievement. So too does distribution of funds, assignment of teachers, general composition of the student body, bureaucratic evaluation and labeling of ability, and school districting. Among the social psychological factors involved, the attitudes of students, teachers, administrators, and the public are very important. For example, many students, from their early years, tend to be inhibited, and their level of attainment is thus affected. Many teachers typically expect little of certain children, thereby reinforcing a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Among the steps that may be taken to attack the various problems of education are teaching the public to value education as a means to self-development and not merely as a door to a career; maintaining a healthy economy and effectively dealing with the problem of poverty; and equalizing the money per pupil in various school districts. Other efforts under way are various compensatory programs. The de-schooling movement is yet another technique aimed at solving these problems.