Economic Reasoning the Driving Force for School Reforms (Essay Sample)

Student Name Instructor’s Name Course Number Date Economic Reasoning is the Driving Force for School Reform It is evident that economic reasons have to a great extent influenced the reforms witnessed in the American education system. According to Gardner, America had to change its education system in order to compete favorably in industry and commerce with its major competitors: Germany and Japan. Therefore, American education system needed a paradigm shift to be more rigorous and intensive in order to achieve the necessary competitive edge. In his journal, The Importance of Adaptability for the 21st Century, Levin argues that cognitive skills as believed in the 1970s were not enough in themselves to achieve quality workforce to meet future business needs (141). He advocates for non-cognitive skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving and decision-making skills in the education system as the business world gets more complex. In most cases, individuals and governments will tend to measure the returns of resources invested in education. It is expected that the more educated the people are, the more productive they are and earn more. It is, therefore a common behavior for people to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of resources devoted to education. Despite the increase in spending on schools for twenty years since 1983, the envisaged economic growth has not been achieved. This is a clear indication that the report: A Nation at Risk expected some economic growth which was not realized. Instead, a state of economic stagnation was witnessed From this discussion, it is evident that economic reasoning is th...