Educational Opportunities - Annotated Bibliography Example

Anderson, E. . Race, Culture, and Educational Opportunity. Theory And Research In Education, 10(2), 105-129. This article criticizes the view that, if cultural factors within the black community explain poor educational outcomes for blacks, then blacks should bear all of the disadvantages that follow from this. Educational outcomes are the joint, iterated product of schools responses to students and parents culturally conditioned conduct. Schools are not entitled to excessively burden such conduct even when it is less than educationally ideal. Cultural capital theory illuminates the ways schools may unjustly penalize the culturally conditioned conduct of blacks and the poor. However, it must be refined to take into account normative differences between arbitrary and educationally important forms of cultural capital. Differential impact analysis offers a useful tool for revealing when schools responses to students and parents conduct reflects unjust racial stigmatization and ethnocentric bias. Ben-Porath, S. (2012). School Choice and Educational Opportunity: Rationales, Outcomes and Racial Disparities. Theory And Research In Education, 10(2), 171-189. This article examines the rationales for school choice, and the significance of choice mechanisms for racial disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes. It identifies tensions between liberty-based rationales and equality-based rationales, and surveys research findings on the outcomes of school choice policies, especially with regard to the racial composition of schools and distribution of opportunities. It concludes that school choice policies are multifarious and lack cohesion, that many existing mechanisms of choice lack proper public justification, and that the outcomes of these policies and mechanisms are at odds with most of the goals identified by their advocates, particularly for minority families. Bushnell, E. J. (2012). Looking Forward: New Challenges and Opportunities. New Directions For Student Services, (138), 91-103. It is essential for higher education professionals to remain abreast of industry trends, emerging fields, and changing requirements that affect the job market and advanced education opportunities for new graduates. Equally important is a continual review of evolving strategies for success in the job search itself. Common practices in todays career services office, like marketing events via social media and coaching students to polish their online presence, were unheard of even ten years ago. This chapter explores recent job market trends and emerging industries, reviews changes in the job search process, and evaluates how changes in higher education transform the preparation of graduates. It also looks ahead to consider how changes in the job market and job search process might alter the ways in which practitioners prepare college graduates for their futures. Finally, this chapter addresses how changes in higher education may further influence the approach of student affairs professionals and their colleagues as they prepare new generations of college students for after-college life. Jacobs L. Equality, Adequacy, and Stakes Fairness: Retrieving the Equal Opportunities in Education Approach. Theory And Research In Education [serial online]. November 1, 2010;8(3):249-268. Available from: ERIC, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 5, 2012. Two approaches to making judgments about moral urgency in educational policy have prevailed in American law and public policy. One approach holds that educational policy should aspire to realizing equal opportunities in education for all. The other approach holds that educational policy should aspire to realizing adequate opportunities in education for all. Although the former has deep roots in American culture and its jurisprudence, a common narrative is that in recent years the equal opportunities approach has been displaced by the educational adequacy approach, which is said both to have enjoyed much greater success in the school financing litigation as well as to be theoretically more defensible. The present article is designed to make a contribution to the retrieval of the equal opportunities approach. It does so by sketching out a theory of equal opportunities in education organized around the idea of stakes fairness that can withstand the criticisms often made of that approach and by showing how that theory is better able than the educational adequacy approach to address the fairness of a more robust educational policy agenda that extends beyond school financing. Johnson, O. R. (2012). Relocation Programs, Opportunities to Learn, and the Complications of Conversion. Review Of Educational Research, 82(2), 131-178. Since 1976, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has relocated low-income children of color from public housing communities to less racially and economically isolated neighborhoods in an effort to improve their developmental opportunities. This article provides the first comprehensive evaluation summary of seven relocation programs and the reasons why six of them failed to replicate the educational successes of the inaugural Gautreaux program. The author argues that children were not able to convert potentially greater opportunities to learn into educational success after they resettled due to four complications, including an absence of threshold effects in destination neighborhoods, the existence of cultural discontinuities, incompatibilities between HUD and educational policy and between educational institutions, and the uncertain relevance of neighborhoods and schools as sites of educational production. Lewis, C. (2012). Oppositional Culture and Educational Opportunity. Theory And Research In Education, 10(2), 131-154. The most common lay explanation for the racial gap in educational achievement in the US is the "oppositional culture hypothesis", which holds that Black students tend to undervalue education and stigmatize their high-achieving peers, accusing them of "acting White". Many believe that, insofar as this hypothesis is true, Black underachievement is unproblematic from the perspective of justice, because Black students are simply not "taking" the fair opportunities presented to them. This article offers a systematic critique of the normative aspects of this view and some conceptual clarifications regarding the nature of opportunity. Mead, J. F., Green, P., & University of Colorado at Boulder, N. (2012). Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity. National Education Policy Center. This policy brief addresses the challenge of using charter school policy to enhance equal educational opportunity. Three overriding assumptions guide the briefs recommendations: (1) charter schools will be part of our public educational system for the foreseeable future; (2) charter schools are neither inherently good, nor inherently bad; and (3) charter schools should be employed to further goals of equal educational opportunity, including racial diversity and school success. The creation of charter schools is just one among a variety of policy tools at the disposal of local, state, and national policymakers. As with all educational policy tools, one challenge is to wield the tool in a manner that will enhance equity and opportunity. Part I of this brief provides an overview of equal educational opportunity and its legal foundations and offers a review of prior research documenting issues concerning charter schools and their impact on equity and diversity. Part II presents detailed recommendations for charter school authorizers, as well as state and federal policymakers for using charter schools to advance equal educational opportunity. Separately, we are publishing a companion document based on these detailed recommendations, providing model statutory code language that can be employed by state policymakers to ensure that charter schools attend to long-established policy goals. Mordechay, K., & University of California, L. (2011). Fragmented Economy, Stratified Society, and the Shattered Dream. Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles, Across the massive megalopolis stretching from the northern suburbs of Los Angeles County through the metropolitan complex along the northern border of Baja California is a diverse area containing 24 million people, with a disproportionate percentage of Latinos and African Americans who are facing an educational and economic disaster. As it becomes increasingly evident that recovery from the most severe economic downturn since The Great Depression will remain subdued, and as the depth of economic plunge in The Great Recession becomes increasingly clear, it is essential to examine the growing disparities in the labor market which have resulted in a widespread increase in economic inequality throughout the region and the state. Though easily drawn into focus in this time of extreme economic slowdown, the changes to the Southern California economy over the last four years are only symptoms of an already existing structural problem exacerbated by the recession, not created by it. Furthermore, it is essential to understand the differential economic opportunity in the region, as it provides a telling story of the challenges we face throughout the nation. This report shows that for several decades there has been a trend towards differential educational and employment opportunity, and that these social and economic inequalities have been heavily related to racial, ethnic, spatial, and social class distinctions. Individuals from the lowest social rungs, particularly Latinos, African Americans, and those in the lowest educational ranks, not only begin with different opportunities and resources, but often do not have the paths to mobility in the quest for social and economic well-being. This trend of racial and class stratification in terms of employment prospects, earnings, and educational opportunity has been increasing for the last 30 years. This report reveals the depth and scope of the problem, with the hope that it will be instrumental in focusing attention on the remedies and leadership needed to make real changes, so that all groups can benefit from the opportunities available within communities. National Governors Association, C., Council of Chief State School, O., & National Conference of State, L. (2010). Supporting Student Success: The Promise of Expanded Learning Opportunities. NGA Center For Best Practices, Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) support state education goals by providing safe, structured learning environments for students outside the regular school day. ELOs include after-school and summer learning programs, as well as before-school, evening, and weekend programs. Although research demonstrates that high-quality expanded learning opportunities can improve a variety of student outcomes, these programs are frequently disconnected from larger, state-level school reform efforts. To address this problem, in 2007, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) launched "Supporting Student Success: The Promise of Expanded Learning Opportunities" (S3), with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Competitive grants of $50,000 were awarded to leadership teams in six states: Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island. These states were charged with bringing together high-level policymakers and stakeholders to foster the integration of expanded learning opportunities into their state education reform agendas. To date, the six states have successfully applied the grant funds to pursue strategic reforms in state-level ELO policy. Many of the S3 states faced a number of challenges in launching this difficult work, including state budget crises and shortages of funds for ELOs; changes in state leadership and personnel; and the need to navigate complex governance structures that made systemic reform difficult. Nevertheless, the six states accomplished a number of policy changes during the two-year grant period: (1) Colorado secured ELO representation on the state P-20 Council and launched a county-level initiative that served as a statewide model; (2) Iowa created its Afterschool Executive Council, which raised awareness of ELOs through a publication that offered state policy recommendations and identified gaps in ELO access, funding, and quality; (3) Massachusetts generated additional funding for the states major after-school grants program and secured positions for ELO representatives on key state commissions and subcommittees for education reform; (4) New Hampshire piloted a program allowing high school students to earn credit for participation in ELOs, which resulted in a reduced dropout rate among participating students; (5) Ohio collected data on ELO funding and sustainability challenges that ultimately increased support for ELOs within the state; and (6) Rhode Island secured ELO representation on a gubernatorial task force and launched a pilot extended-school-day program. For policymakers seeking to better integrate ELOs into state education reform agendas, this report provides an overview of the lessons learned from the S3 project. It describes the major policy strategies and processes by which the six states were able to improve education outcomes through the S3 grant. Rebell, M. A., & Wolff, J. R. (2008). Meaningful Educational Opportunity: A Vital and Viable Mission for NCLB. Educational Horizons, 86(4), 203-225. This article examines the contribution of the No Child Left Behind Act. The authors believe that the "other means" that can substantially advance equal educational opportunity are to provide "meaningful educational opportunities" for all children in each of the schools that they attend. In this article, the authors discuss meaningful educational opportunity and describe the statutory framework for implementing this standard. Read More