Educational Inequality (Essay Sample)

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Educational Inequality
Introduction
The role of education has always been to help the learner understand the world properly. The practice imparts knowledge of how to relate with different phenomena and people in pursuit of quality living standards while at the same time making the world a better place (Reber). In the modern society, education is considered wealth. When one is educated, there is a social perception that the individual would have a happy life. Educating a child is a way of safeguarding the future of the child as it is linked with wellbeing characterized by physical and mental healthiness. Although this could sound absurd, researches affirm that education matters a lot, in the modern society (Diaz 13). Besides the social benefits it can advance to a person, it has a knock-on effect on an individual’s financial earnings. However, there have risen some concerns over the extent to which different people access different level and quality of education (Archer 637). For instance, in the U.S, educational inequality is a major social issue with different population groups exhibiting different levels of successes in education. Educational inequality is believed to be a major contributor to economic inequality in the country, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, which qualifies it to be a serious social issue owing to its propagation of social injustice. In responding to the economic inequality, people are trying to adopt some ways to help them cope with the situation as they strive to break the enigma created by the situation. To understand the issue of educational inequality, it is necessary to view how the problem prevails in the society, discuss how it qualifies as a major social issue, and further look at economic elements of educational inequality in order to analyze how people respond to the economic problems the issue presents.
An Overview of Educational Inequality
For many years, social inequality has been an issue of contention among the U.S population. In a country of population characterized by cultural diversity, the situation in the U.S represents the phenomenon experienced in many countries in the world, with similar population traits. The country’s educational inequality is based on various social aspects of the society. According to Hoover & Yaya, the extent to which children or students access quality-learning opportunities in the U.S educational system highly depends on their social positions in the society (79). Different authors and researchers believe on the same sentiment that the educational inequality in the country is centered on social aspects such as gender differences, an individual’s region of location, social classes, and ethnicity. Although politicians would want to argue against the existence of such issues in the educational system of the country, different studies have confirmed that there is huge educational disparities experienced in the U.S that deny the population equal opportunities to access quality education (Charles-Coll 17).
 Educational inequality based on Gender
Many would want to believe that, in the 21st century, the issue of gender inequality does not exist in the U.S especially where matters of education is concerned. However, there is worry that some populations in the country still do not value their women. For instance, among the Hispanic group, the level of education among the women as compared to that of the men is very low. Hoover and Yaya explains that among such ethnic groups, women are still ascribed the traditional domestic roles as home caretakers, which has prevented many from prioritizing education for women (83). The same situation can be used to explain the low level of educated women among the blacks as compared to the huge number of educated women among the whites, in the country.
 Educational inequality based on Urban-rural location
In some cases, the ability of a child to access education especially among those who would want to pursue higher education depends of the region of location. In the U.S, different states have different policies of educational funding that can affect the ability of a student to access the education of choice. Other regions, especially rural areas have few highly developed educational institutions and this limits their students from experiencing the quality of education as those in highly developed educational institutions, most of which are located in the urban areas. In such cases, students would have different educational experiences that would tend to impart in them different knowledge and skills both theoretical and technical and this would tend to influence their levels of employability (Reber).
 Educational inequality based on Social classes
Inequalities of people’s social classes sometimes affect their ability to access certain standards of education. The U.S educational system has allowed the distinction between educational institutions in which some institutions are more privileged than others (Archer 641). Most of the privileged institutions have better facilities and provide substantial learning support for students to help them improve in their academic performances. Such advantaged education institutions are highly priced in terms of school fees and a majority of the middle class citizens and poor citizens cannot afford to take their children to such institutions. Consequently, this creates a disparity in the level of education among the rich and those with financial constraints.
 Educational inequality based on Racial/ethnic groups
Racial segregation also plays a major role in promulgating educational inequality. According to Charles-Coll, racial discrimination is a major issue that determines where a child would go to school in the U.S. Other populations believes in the existence of “racialised patterns of employment,” which is discouraging many from attending schools in the protest that education does not help one in securing a job (Acher 647). Instances of racial discrimination are witnessed in education institutions in the U.S and this greatly contribute in the selection of an institution, which one would want to attend. Sometimes individuals miss out to attend good schools for fear of being ethnically discriminated. Such situations limit people from accessing quality education, fostering educational inequality among different ethnic groups.
Why Educational Inequality Is a Social Issue
In the society, people are much concerned about perusing happiness by uplifting the quality of their lives and those of their beloved ones. To achieve this, various factors play the role of facilitating an individual to achieving his/her desires in life. Reber describes “pursuit of happiness” as the ability to achieve mental soundness, physical health, and the achievement of material things such as property, and others such as freedom. The author further explains that people should have equal rights to achieve those things, as this is what defines absolute independence. Reber’s opinion elucidates that for there to be social harmony, people have to be able to afford good housing, good clothing, quality health, and education. Archer is of the same view, asserting that for there to be social justice, people have to feel and experience equality in the opportunities to access various things that makes life comfortable (635).
Díaz affirms that education is one of the most important factors that contribute to the level of quality of life (13). According to him, education level of an individual positively influences the health and housing condition that the individual would enjoy. Many authors agree to the notion that education level determines an individual’s level of income and this determines the quality of life that one would live. However, some people do not believe that education alone can determine the lifestyle of an individual. Reber contends stressing that people can still do other things in life, other than education, to generate the income they need to sustain them in lives. Conversely, the opinion that education is a strong weapon for fighting for social justice, is strong, to explicate that educational inequality is a social issue that should be addressed with the level of seriousness it deserves.
When people go to school, they acquire vital skills that can enable them to secure good employment to cater for the daily needs. In this context, when one attains insufficient educational skills owing to the disadvantaged nature of the school he/she attended, the person would secure a low paying job that may not be sufficient in catering for the individual’s financial needs. Such a person may stagnate in life to become poor. The segregating effect of educational inequality may lead to major social issues if certain groups of people in the society fall in the category of those who did not get the opportunity to attend a good school for good education. This would lead a certain click of people into poverty increasing inequality in the society, which can promote further community segregation that can trigger social unrest. Poverty is associated with various social mischiefs such as crime and poor living conditions, and when this is inherited through a cycle of poor academic performance, it becomes a gravy social issue for the community involved (Charles-Coll 12). The gap between the rich and poor, in the society, increases with exacerbated differences in educational opportunities, which further widens the gap in other opportunities that make the lives of people better for their welfare satisfaction.
Economic Elements of Educational Inequality
Various researchers and authors agree that lack of considerable education performance adversely affects the level o...