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The Education Crisis:: Business and Government'S Role in Reform
The Education Crisis:: Business and Government'S Role in Reform
by
CARLETON S. FtIORINA
June 1989
AUTHOR_~~~~~
~_.
__
JUN ~ 8 1989
UBRARIfS ARCHIVES
GOVER~mENT'S
ROLE IN REFORM
by
CARLETON S. FIORINA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
-3-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Il1TRODUCTION
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
14
35
Decentralization
. . . .
The Federal Role
....
Vocationalization . . . .
Conclusion . . .
42
45
50
56
59
61
66
70
73
80
85
Business-Education Partnerships
Some Common Themes .
The positives . . . . . . . .
The Limits
Conclusion
91
94
102
107
113
116
CHAPTER VI
120
121
139
142
144
148
CHAPTER VII
153
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
-4-
157
,
CHAPTER I:
INTRODUCTION
The media is
SAT
Corporate
And
My
desir~
My curiosity about
How
5 -
therefore began my
The first
This is
6 -
High
And it is
Private schools,
Although vocationalism
7 -
exhaustive analysis of the educat:ion problem, n.or an Indepth, statistical description of it.
It is arl attem'flt to
Is it newly discovered?
How have we viewed education in this
country? What have we expected of public
secondary education?
How have we in the past, and how are we
now dealing with the problem? Has. it
worked? Why or why not?
What roles have government, busin1ess and
education played in resolving the problem?
I have deliberately chosen a comparative methodology
to address these issues.
- 8 -
tID
become
so alarmed.
30 years.
Chapter IV
9 -
must be systematically re-examined and realistically reassessed if we are to make real progress.
Although other nations face similar problems, ours
have some unique causes and consequences.
Sp~cial
meeting them.
- 10 -
education~
Like most
I
thought
Where
11 -
- 12 -
NOTES TO CHAPTER I
[1]
[2]
[3]
Ibid., p. R-12.
- 13 -
CHAPTER II:
Webster's Dictionary
- 14 -
including
Quite the
contrary, it is to suggest these problems are more deeplyrooted and long-standing than the term "crisis" implies.
They are issues that have plagued us for decades, as an
examination of recent history attests; issues that have
remained witr us despite solutions proposed years ago;
solutions that sound eerily
r~miniscent
of policies
suggested today.
Consider the following facts:
The
- 15 -
The Bush
security. [3]
- 16 -
(4]
"recent pUblicity in
Stating
published in 1983.
of foreign language;
- 17 -
u.s.
- 18 -
The Commission
- 19 -
The
Excellence~
20 -
or vocational institutions.
[18]
- 21 -
[20]
- 22 -
The Second
If America's education problem is that over onequarter of this country's students never finish high
school, then America has had a problem for almost 40
years.
- 23 -
Is it possible
Are we
It is not,
- 24 -
schooling are concentrated among minority youth inclUding black, Hispanic, and increasingly Central
American immigrants - in America's inner cities. [26]
These facts surrounding drop-outs point up some of
the painful dilemmas involved in all education policy.
The United states, with its political heritage of equal
opportunity, has always sought to ensure that none are
left behind - that our emphasis on instilling basic skills
for example includes all children.
However, widened
- 25 -
emplo~ment,
studf~nts
who
and
as~
to the
Although in expansionary
For our
pu~~oses
here
the
26 -
None of
In
the lEA studies, for example, England and Sweden had the
highest scores for national performance on math and
science testing. England's school system is highly
[29]
[30]
- 27 -
hierarchy.
[32]
As a
28 -
This is
For example,
Targeting
However, the
29 -
The
Conclusion
The "education crisis" in America is a more complex,
long-standing and wide-spread issue than a cursory review
of the media would suggest.
-
the last three decades; despite the fact that almost every
state has raised curriculum or promotion requirements lu
on
edu~ation
by
Effective
Most of
- 31 ...
NOTES TO CHAPTER II
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
Ibid., p. 2.
[6]
Ibid., p. 3.
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
Ibid., p. II.
[11]
Ibid., p. 12.
[12]
[13]
32 -
[14]
[15]
[16]
Ibid.
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
Education
Polic~ ~
Planning.
cit., p. 19.
[22]
[23]
Andrain,
[24]
[25]
Andrain,
[26]
[27]
Andrain,
QR
cit., p. 74.
cit., p. 84.
cit. p. 79-80.
33 -
QP~
[28]
[29]
Ibid., p. 20
[30]
Eaucation
[31]
Ibid., p. 41.
[32]
[33]
[34]
Education
[35]
Ibid., p. 46.
[36]
Andrain,
(37]
in Modern
Society.
cit p. 13.
cit . p. 70-73.
Qit"
p. 84.
- 34 -
CHAPTER XllL
POLITICAL REALITIES
Chapter IV provides a
35 -
set?
and taught?
education?
policy.
In
36 -
[3]) In
performing students.
37 -
But,
And the
The
- 38 -
for graduation.
39 -
In fact, youth
School
These
continues.
- 40 -
sco~e
Ameri~an.
reach more and more of those students with whom they have
I
debate~
Are we teaching
We turn now,
education.
Decentralization
The
u.s.
are unclear.
jurisdiction.
The result is an
- 42 -
dis~retion
The degree
Without
administration.
It is important to grasp
th~
example, that a central authority exists but decisionmaking responsibility has been delegated.
There is no
43 -
Educational reform
Nationally standardized
Therefore,
Second~
and as a result
- 44 -
As
opportunity.
y.!..
The desire to
- 45 -
its potential.
It is important
involvement.
But
- 46 -
[15]
ensure equal access to equal education facilities ensuring that all children were enrolled in schools of
roughly equal endowment.
Did
- 47 -
And Christopher
SAT scores.
- 48 -
Although the
Although
last several decades has been directed at, and limited by,
a very specific aim - the correction of imbalances in the
distribution of educational opportunity.
- 49 -
th~
But it has
This
Employment
Yet, it is not
50 -
Such was
It is equally clear
wor~er
that receives
- 51 -
Education was
The
shift in purpose.
At
The purpose
53 -
It
54 -
credentialing:
"With schooling the mechanism of social
and economic advancement, the incentive
for each individual was to gain as much
schooling as possible. This process in
turn led to increasing rates of high
school attendance and then to .
college attendance." [26]
Credentialing has meant that jobs requiring
are considered a minimum requirement for many jobs whether the skills learned in the pursuit of the degree
are directly relevant or not.
means that
d~spite
u.s.
[27]
It spotlights
- 55 -
Conclu~iQD
~hese
The
We turn now to a
56 -
[2]
Ibid., po 74.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Andrain,
[6]
cit . p. 74.
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
Ibid., p. 40.
[13]
Ibid., p. 25.
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
Ibid., p. 30.
[19]
[20]
[21]
p. 29.
[22]
cit . FY 1981, p. 1.
Progress Q! Education
America.
in
united states of
cit . p. 6.
[23]
[24]
cit . p. 1.
[25]
[26]
[27]
Andrain,
cit p. 7.
cit . p. 78.
- 58 -
CHAPI'ER llL
best measured
statistically or experientially?
How should education be included in the
political process?
And finally,
59 -
"right" approach.
The answers we have chosen define the nature, purpose
and value of schooling in this country, and are based upon
fundamental social, cultural and political realities which
shape our thinking.
our purposes.
implemented~
If we are unwilling
Our
60 -
Technical
VB.
Cognitive Skills
Our focus
on the preparation for the work role above all others, and
our desire to use education to improve productivity (a
theme that has recurred in educational reform movements
cognitive skills.
- 61 -
The use of
[1] is
generally discounted.
62 -
concern.
[4]
As
Thus, educators
The decentralized
63 -
on
As
technical skills.
In an increasingly complex,
65 -
Even if we
outmoded tomorrow.
Learning
School-Work
This purpose
coun~ry.
Going to school
When
school.
- 66 -
investing in.
broken~
vocationalization as the use of schools as "warehouses" that is institutions designed, in part, to hold youth in
an unproductive, "student" capacity until the labor market
can absorb them.
However,
~eal
occupational and
If the link is
I!ISchools can
-67 -
substantial." [10]
Many of today's cooperative agreements between
schools and business are perpetuating this link.
In the
Providing
most severely.
But
68 -
He has
The school-
Most
The perpetuation of
pursuit~
Why
69 -
o~r
intellectual pursuits?
enormous.
In the course of
- 70 -
~ ~
the scores.
A Ration
A Nation
- 71 -
We too easily
and discourage long-term thinking by highlighting shortterm variations as opposed to over-all patterns.
Equally alarming is the growing body of evidence that
reliance on statistics, particularly SAT scores, actually
exacerbates the problems educational reform seeks to
address.
- 72 -
do
We measured the
Because education is
pressures.
Intensifying this politicization is the growing
pluralism of American society.
atmosphere.
The result is that consensus on educational goals and
policies is more difficult than ever to achieve.
At every
(An
state~,
the National
- 76 -
The
Viewing education as a
Our
Two
- 77 -
~ ~
street
~y
78 -
does.
- 79 -
[27]
th~
subsequent chapters.
If we are
Education
a CUre-All
- 80 -
It is this
The increased
The church
- 81 -
The
82 -
As we saw in
Chapter III, such was the case during the sixties and
seventies.
The perception of
83 -
~usiness
- 84 -
But
We ought
We
in~roduce
an
Conclusion
- 85 -
We
- 86 -
- 87 -
The following
NOTES TO CHAPTER IV
[1]
[2]
[3]
Elemen~
Bngineering.
cit . po 31.
[4]
[5]
~,eotary
~.neering. ~
[6]
[7]
~~e
[8]
~lgineering.
[9]
[10]
Ibid., p. 115.
- 88 -
[11]
[12]
[13]
Ibid.
[14]
Gordon,
[15]
Ibid., p. 38.
[16]
[17]
cit., p. 37.
Development, Education
[18]
[19]
[20]
Ibid., p. 11.
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
Progress in EducatioD in
America. 2RL cit . p. 6.
[25]
Ibid., p. 60.
- 89 -
United states Qf
[26]
R~l.
[27]
[28]
[29]
~,
- 90 -
p. 114.
p. R-J,
CHAPl'ER
Y...t
mI
The
[1]
An
estimated
- 91 -
Corporate
The Department of
92 -
Of
~f
[5]
93 -
Boston
The Boston school system is "widely regarded as one
of the nation's worst". [8]
A disproportionate number of
- 94 -
5' a
year.
whic~
emphasize academic
95 -
statis~ics
Drop-out
rates for black students rose from 35% to 44%, for whites
from 37% to 42%, for Asians from 14% to 26.5%, and for
Hispanics from 43' to 52'. [13]
Both the number of full-time and summer job
placements have risen: from 415 in 1983 to 967 in 1986 and
from 1,181 to 2,591 respectively. [14]
However, the
One
- 96 -
au
And, as indicated in
[17]
Philadelphia
Philadelphia's drop out rate is 60%; at least one in
every three urban high-school students will be on welfare
as an adult.
97 -
&
Haas Co.,
They plan to
98 -
[20]
school. [ 21 ]
Philadelphia's business community is also trying to
improve teachers' and administrators' skills.
Companies
Local
Rochester
Headquarters for Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester
represents one of the most radical approaches to
educational reform.
... 99 -
The
refoI~
plan is
fr~m
The district's
2600
The
teacher involvement and responsibility implies, highquality teachers can earn up to $70,000 a year - a
previously unheard of amount. [24]
One of the Rochester success stories is the Wilson
"magnet" school.
- 100 -
technology-based workplace.
Today, 85% of
Although
Teachers are to be
[~6]
And though
- 101 -
Kodak President
education partnerships.
Such self-
Not every
- 102 -
More
school system.
Or is it instead
- 103 -
minorities?
beyond question.
getting a job as a file clerk in downtown Philadelphia even for the urban poor.
- 104 -
systems?
Finally, no doubt encouraged by business's penchant
for demanding "bottomline" results to determine whether
its money is being well-spent, most of these programs have
This
Results, it
In Philadelphia, program
- 105 -
decline 5% a year.
Their
A school system
Education is a long-term
- 106 -
We
The positives
Lest the above discussion sound too cynical, there
are some real benefits to corporate involvement in
education.
We
Business
faces.
Second 6 the business community is close at hand, and
wants constant reassurance that its money is being spent
as intended.
money and ideas and then go back to doing things the old
way.
- 108 -
find corporate
It
"
- 109 -
Indeed, David
th~
Right
Indeed I
If increased awareness of
Additionally, a powerful
Many
This may be
Corporate-sponsored
Many
Corporate support
In the
These kinds of
donations are in my view the "purest" business can make they contribute to the provision of a higher quality
education without exacerbating any of the systemic
problems in the system.
system.
Even the
When
We
problems~
In my
To blame the
They
receive.
248
days a year.
After three
Conclusion
Business cannot and should not do it all.
This is
- 116 -
NOTES TO CHAPTER V
[1]
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Ibid., p. 65.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
Ibid.
[10]
[11]
Ibid. , p. 39.
[12]
Ibid. , p. 43.
[13]
Ib.id. , p. 54.
[14]
[15]
Ibid. , p. 49.
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
Ibid.
[20]
Ibid., p. R-14.
[21]
Ibid.
[22]
Ibid., p. R-12.
[23]
[24]
Ibid.
[25]
Ibid., p. R-6.
[26]
Ibid., p. R-6.
[27]
Ibid., p. R-6.
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
Ibid., p. 109.
- 118 -
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
Ibid., p. 56.
[37]
[38]
[39]
Science and
- 119 -
CHAPTER VI:
education reform.
- 120 -
Federal Goals
Ensuring Equity
The most obvious and important federal government
role is to ensure that the goal of a quality education for
all children, regardless of race, sex or economic
circumstance, not be compromised.
The
- 121 -
$34
on
strapped however.
- 122 -
Yet
The 44
A disproportionate number of
- 123 -
The "Trends in
[11]
Rather these
~n
portion of the
$400
budgets~
[13]
However,
cl~se
in Cambridge, pUblic
sc~ools
Conversely,
~lan
As noted in Chapter
Pro-choice plans
Even hardenad
natir~wide
drop-out rate of
Programs
le~s
Research data
It is simply
taken for granted that every child must attain at the very
minimum 'functional mathematics', that is, the ability to
perform mathematical calculations." [19]
And according
But as the
I am
cracks~
In my view, voluntarism,
propensity for corporate donors to focus on both shortterm results as well as immediately employable skills.
If~
as I have
It is however,
In an
provi~e
a balanced curriculum.
state and
But
- 132 -
QD
Education Reform
- 133 -
successful.
Many would argue that these are the responsibilities
of teachers' employers, the school districts.
But the
[25]
- 134 -
merit.
- 135 -
~ ~
Affairs
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Vocational and Adult Education
Post-secondary Education
Educational Research and Improvement
Within the Office of Elementary and Secondary
variety of programs.
[30]
- 137 -
~~nflict
with other
worthy of mention.
state-of-the-art.
believe additional
These
learning. [32]
[33]
Federal
[34]
We have
[35]
prohibitive. [36]
While the
Although a "national
Withstanding the
Inevitably, discussion of
ineffective.
appropriat~d
Title
II
$20
Of the
Two-thirds of the
First,
For
consistent amounts.
The Department
~llocated
Ideally, federal
If
Conclusion
pr~tection.
national agendas.
In this way, education is no different from any other
Lest
- 149 -
NOTES TO CHAPrEB VI
[1]
[2]
Ibid., p. 25.
[3]
Ibid., p. 26.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
Ibid., p. 38.
[8]
Ibid.
[9]
Ibid.
[10]
[11]
Ibid., p. 8.
[12]
Ibid., p. 105.
[13]
[14]
- 150 -
[17]
[18]
Ibid., p. 7.
[19]
Ibid., p. 139.
[20]
[21]
[23]
[24]
[25]
Ibid., p. 69.
[26]
Ibid., p. 71
[27]
Ibid.
[28]
Ibid., p. 117.
[29]
[30]
Engineering.
- 151 -
[32]
[33]
[34]
Ibid., p. 37.
[35]
Ibid., p. 118.
[36]
Ibid., p. 119.
[37]
Ibid., p. 123.
[38]
[39]
[40]
Ibid.
[41]
Ibid.
[42]
- 152 -
CHAPTER VII:
CONCLUSIONS
AHD
RECOMMENDATIONS
- 153 -
less~
~ime,
If ever
there was an issue where consistent leadership and longrange vision are needed, education is it.
Politicians must remember that education issues do
not lend themselves to credible campaign promises.
Although it is laudable for Presidents and Education
Secretaries to re-establish education as a top priority,
it is foolish for them to promise four year solutions.
No single Administration can achieve revolutionary
changes.
- 154 -
Our teachers,
- 155 -
- 156 -
....
r--
REFERENCES
~ ~
street Journal,
- 158 -
u.s.
- 159 -