Educational Inequalities

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Educational Inequalities
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Educational Inequalities

• Education has in Americas whole history been
  the major hope for improving the individual and
  society Myrdal, 1944
• Universities are the gatekeeper to the most
  lucrative occupations
• In 2000 the student population consisted of 10
  African American, 7 Hispanic and 6 Asian
  American, 1 American Indian, percentages fairly
  close to the overall population of each group

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Educational Inequalities

• The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has
  earmarked 1 billion to finance full scholarships
  until 2019 for 1,000 African Americans and
  American Indian students a year
• However inequalities continue to exist

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Education is linked to success rate

• Educational attainment is an important factor in
  determining employment and income levels
• As whites have higher educational attainment more
  whites will end up with better paid jobs
• Many young ghetto blacks underachieve believe
  that studying is white and that failing tests
  is part of being black
• Cuban stay on rates are closer to those of whites
  than to Hispanic average
• Mexican Americans tend to leave at an early age,
  gang and drug culture appeals although not as
  pronounced as it is for blacks

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Educational Inequalities

• More Blacks and Hispanics drop out of high school
  than whites
• In 2000 57 of Hispanics completed HS whereas
  88.4 of whites did
• The HS dropout rates for blacks is double that
  for whites although the number is decreasing
• 72 of Blacks have a high school diploma but only
  17 of have a degree

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Educational Inequalities

• Generally half the money to operate schools comes
  from the state and the remaining half is raised
  through local property and sales taxes
• Those communities which have high property values
  can provide high quality facilities, newest
  software and best teachers but poorer districts
  find it difficult to fund the basics

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Learning barriers

• Schooling in ghettos and barrios is substandard,
  lack of resources as well as teachers
• Inner city schools report they have twice the
  average teacher shortage
• Morale is low among staff
• Culture of failure, exam results are poor

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Violence in schools

• 9 of students report being threatened or injured
  with a weapon in school property
• School at times in the ghetto is really just
  somewhere to go

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Further education

• Less Blacks and Hispanics graduate from college
  or high school than whites
• Koreans have the highest level of education
• Even those blacks who do have a degree still hold
  less chance of success in job market

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Institutionalised racism

• Blacks and Hispanics are severely
  underrepresented in subjects such as maths,
  science and engineering, the subjects required
  for modern industry whilst only 10 of Hispanics
  graduate from college
• Even those who hold a degree are more than twice
  likely to be unemployed than a white graduate
• Also the mean monthly income of a black
  professional would need to increase 62 to
  achieve parity with a similarly highly educated
  white professional

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Institutionalised racism

• In most large American Corporations white males
  continue to be the top executives blacks are
  unable to break through the glass ceiling
• Most successful blacks are concentrated in jobs
  like teaching etc where despite promotion wages
  are still lower than medicine and law

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Escaping from poverty???

• The number of African American managers and
  professionals increased from 600,000 to around
  1.8 million over 20 years
• Little difference in recruitment of college
  educated African Americans and white men in
  managerial and executive positions

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Attitudes and access

• Hispanics cannot always access education due to
  language barriers
• Although many have embraced the enterprise
  culture and many have the opportunity to work
  with families
• For many (especially Blacks) education is the
  white mans thing and therefore rejected

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Learning begins in the home

• A lack of role models and home encouragement
  makes learning all the more difficult cycle of
  poverty
• Often the lack of money also leads to problems as
  students have no access to technology

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Helping themselves

• Education has been emphasised by prominent
  community leaders
• Development of positive role models as opposed to
  criminals in the past
• School curriculum to include ethnic studies
  rather than just white historical figures e.g.
  Columbus
• Some schools have 2 language policy
• Staying on at school is now highly encouraged
• Not blaming whites for all their troubles