Political Factors of Education By: The Cyber Students Learning about the culture of today's schools through the innovation of technology. : Political Factors of Education By: The Cyber Students Learning about the culture of today's schools through the innovation of technology. http://www.pacyber.org/images/home-banner1.jpg
The Political Issues : The Political Issues There are several issues that have manifested themselves in the political arena in regards to our schools and the education being provided.
These issues range from who controls and makes the decisions for our schools, to educational reform to teacher certifications, to the trend of free choice of school and funding and how are students are fairing in the modern age of school reform which all stem from the NCLB.
Prioritizing Education & Educational Reform : Prioritizing Education & Educational Reform Many politicians maintain that educational reform is based solely on the improvement of standardized test scores. This is a common misconception among Americans today.
Government policymakers and the general public both share the same view that increasing the average student test scores on standardized tests is indicative of an improvement in the entire education system.
American policymakers, educators and the general public are divided in their perceptions of the problems
plaguing the education system.
Currently, there are four conflicting perspectives regarding the deficiencies of the education system and proposed solutions:
Prioritizing Education & Educational Reform (contd.) : Prioritizing Education & Educational Reform (contd.) The Four Proposed Solutions
Improve existing public school system by increasing national standards
Improve the existing school system by providing adequate funding.
Challenging the existing school system by offering educational choices.
Reform the public school system completely by creating student-centered schools.
Educational Reform (Con’t) : Educational Reform (Con’t) Many Americans outside of the political sector state that if we focus only on standardized test scores, we will not only be doing the students a disservice, but we will be wasting a lot of money.
Since money and politics go hand-in-hand it is important that the issue of standardized tests are heavily researched, and if the research does not prove to be what today’s schools need, then research-based solutions should be implemented in under-performing schools.
How are Students Affected by these Issues : How are Students Affected by these Issues In the 1800’s, when school was not mandatory, children still learned to read and write. When they can learn at their own pace, it is more proficient, they are able to enjoy it more and then they want to learn.
There is a significant increase of mental illness once a child reaches school age.
The human psyche is strongly affected by something we come into contact with at school.
Everyone learns at a different pace. Forcing children to read and perform other activities before they are ready can negatively affect how they learn from then on.
By the time children reach school age, many already know -a complex language, how to interact with others and their environment.
Conclusion : Conclusion Globalization and technological advancements have both managed to change our country’s education system, economy and thus the entire work place.
Politics, in theory and practice, affects education: its organization, policies, funding, operations, and outcomes.
Testing, which was supposed to be a way of assessing reform, is now being treated as the actual reform.
To put the growth of off-budget and nonfederal funds spending generated by federal legislation in perspective, it has grown from zero dollars in 1965 to inflation--adjusted $4.1 billion in 1975. Between 1980 and 1998, off-budget support grew 232.9 percent after inflation. (Policy Almanac.org) See figure 1
Charts & Graphs : Charts & Graphs
Source: : Source: Education Reform. net
Charts retrieved from: http//www. PolicyAlmanac.org**