Analysis of Articles Concerning Economics - Essay Example

The first proposed solution was increased levels of privatization (Increased tuition, industry grants). The second solution was increased federalization which translates to increase funding from government institutions. The third solution is increased cultivation of general public support where a medicine program could gain support through area health care providers. The fourth solution was increased pluralistic leadership which would be increasing the remittances from alumni, which also means taking a proactive approach from the perspective of the university through alumni outreach programs etc. There is the additional option of “Paying closer attention to long-term directions of movement.” This means taking an anticipatory approach to understanding what the market conditions will be in the long term future.
The great uncertainty from this function is the question of what would happen to productivity if a nation were to not take full advantage of its educational assets. What this means is that ensuring that a strong educational research policy is pivotal to ensuring the long term economic and political success of a nation operating in a global environment.

The second article to be examined for this paper is titled Magnet Schools and the Pursuit of Racial Balance by Goldring and Smrekar of Vanderbilt University.
Originally Magnet schools were established as a means of desegregation, typically in urban school districts and have in many circumstances been embraced by the communities that they have entered into. However, the issue of true desegregation remains a pivotal issue for many magnet schools. One complication is that districts with larger minority populations will find it harder to achieve desegregation and in the case of Kansas city minority enrolments remained at 73-75% instead of the target 40% owing to difficulties in attracting non-minority students. As such goals were set by the Magnet School Assistance Program to reduce the isolation of students but ultimately the goals were not achieved.
A case study was conducted on racial balance in urban magnet schools in Cincinnati and St. Louis to determine the number of parameters. First the perceived value of racially integrated schools, wherein it was established that teachers specifically spoke to the value of having children exposed to other cultures. The next issue is the cost of integration, from one perspective there would be reduced costs on the bussing system if neighbourhood kids attended schools in their neighbourhoods. From the parents perspective, it was espoused by both black and white parents that the costs associated with integration were ultimately worth it. This perspective was largely based on the idea of diversity. As a final point it was highlighted by a judge in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg case that, although there may be a benefit to true integration, in the case of magnet school integration, children are not often viewed as individuals but rater “Cogs” in a social experiment.

The final essay to be examined is By Frederick Rudolph as it appears in The American College and University: A History, and is titled The College Movement. The article first highlights the idea that College building was often viewed in the same regard as regular infrastructure building and often met with disastrous results. In fact, some people postulated that it may be too difficult to foster a system of higher learning in American owing to the spirit of the inhabitants of America. But the desire to build higher learning institutions in the Americas existed largely because wealthy people were frustrated with sending their children off to Europe to gain a higher education. In due time the “College Movement” gained momentum, with the founding of several prominent institutions. The missionary movement helped provide fuel to the growth of colleges because of westward expansion.