Implementation of Performance-Based Funding in Louisiana - Research Proposal Example

 Background Education is the basic need for the young ones to learn about the society and the civilization. In fact in view of the online learning and adult education facilities, education has come very much within the reach of all sections of the society. It is indeed considered a fundamental human right, as has been set forth as an important element in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Human Rights Covenants, which have the force of international laws. Therefore, it is quite obvious that respective governments around the world will try to make as much contribution towards education sector as possible to make well qualified citizens for a better tomorrow. Some of the education institutions, not having enough resources, catering to minorities or underprivileged sections of the society, are often provided state funding in order to bring them at par with other institutions. Preliminary Literature Review The stated objective behind such funding is to provide quality education in such institutions at nominal costs. State funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities is being provided with a White House initiative set in motion by President Jimmy Carter1 in 1980 with the objective of, ‘overcoming the effects of discriminatory treatment and to strengthen and expand the capacity of historically black colleges and universities to provide quality education’. President Reagan subsequently established the ‘White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ in 1981. As a result the state of Louisiana saw emergence of public institutions like Grambling State University; Southern University and A&M College; Southern University at New Orleans; Southern University at Shreveport together with couple of private institutions. But, in an era of globalization and liberalization quality has become the key focus area. Today, products and services are objectively assessed from the point of view of their functionality, value proposition and the overall performance. Market forces have now acquired a predominant role while limiting the roles of the respective governments to that of a facilitator. Educational institutions too are now expected to come out with matching results and professional approach in imparting education. Therefore now we hear about suggestions for ‘performance based funding’ to educational institutions and take necessary punitive action if any institution is found to be drifting in its duties and responsibilities and resulting in below par performances. Landen (1997) contends that education has in fact been traditionally associated with the cognitive domain with an emphasis on knowledge, comprehension, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities are certainly no exception if the state desires to fix the accountability. In today’s context when there are number of avenues for education including campus and online, then it certainly calls for an introspection as to what makes it necessary to invest the public funds for such purposes. Rogers (1961) stated that the only learning that significantly influences human behavior happens to be self-discovered. It is argued that funding the primary education could be considered in the category of social service, but the perceptions change when we talk about urban higher education. But the moot question is what kind of political, social or practical implications such a move will have. Though in US there are a number of such institutions in many states, an effort has been made through this study, to take note of such implications on HBCUs in Louisiana in particular. The HBCU program though is not just an educational program but it involves the objective of addressing the community development2 in their localities as well. Research Questions and Objectives This study intends to develop a better understanding of the educational practices in some of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Louisiana. An effort would also be made to see how effective the anti-discriminatory and democratic steps have helped such institutions. During the study an effort would be made to analyze the functioning of some of the HBCUs and an to seek answers to the following key objectives; To analyze the extent of funding being made available to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities How employing such measures has helped the students, the community and the nation in general over the last more than two decades. Assess the performance of the students over a five year period and comparing this to the performances from other educational institutions of higher learning. Prerequisite to good education imply that the student community is able to gain the knowledge and qualification which helps them in being able to do their bit towards the cause of the society, the country or the international arena. How HBCUs in Louisiana have been able to adopt a balancing approach towards motivating the students in this direction Diversity is considered the hallmark of educational institutions with students from all sections of the society interacting with each other and trying to learn about each other’s culture, beliefs, customs etc. Does having an educational institution exclusively for black people somehow hamper this notion? No organization would like to see its supply lines being trimmed by the government. What impact will this have if some conditions are imposed on HBCUs on performance and they are asked to deliver for being eligible for state funding? Research Methodology Research approaches and methods radically influence research content and, consequently, the policies designed in response to that content. Research philosophy is a belief about the way in which data about a phenomenon should be gathered, analyzed and used. This thesis is a qualitative case study which focuses on an analysis of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in US in general and Louisiana in particular and to assess the impact of linking state funding with performances. To carry out such a study in general we resort to two main approaches3; Deductive reasoning: This works from the more general to the more specific subjects. Sometimes this is informally called a "top-down" approach. In such approach we take up the ‘theory’ and then try to apply it to the hypotheses that we intend to test. Gradually we narrow down to the testing of data and observations for their applicability to the theory/ theories to arrive at a confirmation of its applicability or not. The Inductive approach on the other hand begins with collecting data, specific observations, which then leads to broader generalization and theories. Such an approach is called as “bottom up” approach. The patterns thus detected are formulated into tentative hypotheses and we can therefore arrive at some general conclusion about our subject. However in this study we’ll try to make a balanced mix of both these approaches so that we get to analyze the organization as well as established theories. A brief questionnaire would also be prepared to assess the aspirations of some of the present students from such colleges and levels of satisfaction from senior or former students. An effort would also be made to gain an insight into the mindset of some other stakeholders in the entire scenario. References: 1. Landen, Mary (1997). The role of technology in education and training. Industrial and Commercial Training Volume 29 • Number 7. MCB University Press. 2. Research Method Knowledge Base (2006). ‘Deduction & Induction’. Available online at http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php (Dec 11, 2008) 3. Rogers, C. (1961), On Becoming a Person – A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy, Constable, London. 4. US Department of Education (2008). White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Available online at http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whhbcu/edlite-index.html (Dec 10, 2008) 5. US Department of Housing and Urban Development (2004). Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Available online at http://www.hud.gov/progdesc/hbcu.cfm (Dec 11, 2008) Read More