Educated Paupers (Sociology ) - Research Paper Example

Like other countries that were in the former soviet bloc, Mongolia saw the opportunity to expand higher education. In fact, education of the population has been a top social policy priority area of Mongolia wherein it has been legally imposed that 20 percent of GDP or Growth Domestic Product is to be spent on the educational sector (*citation). Moreover, Mongolia is known to be one of the world’s most highly educated countries (*). So why is this country in the category of greatest amount of universities and colleges facing debt, poverty and unemployment issues (*)?

To address this issue, I will make use of functionalism and symbolic interactionism as theoretical frameworks of analysis. Functionalists view the society as a living organ and its parts must work together in order to function smoothly (*). On the other hand, symbolic interactionism notes that change in the meaning changes the attitude towards the issue (*). These two theories will be the basis in analyzing the challenges and opportunities that the modern Mongolian educational system is facing.

The application of these theories will be further understood as the paper progresses. To better understand the issue at hand, a short historical background of the educational system of Mongolia before and after 1990 is critical. Up to 1990, the educational sector of Mongolia is characterized by a Soviet Model. . e specifically, everybody is entitled of primary and secondary education that is free of charge and preparation for specialists with higher education is planned (*). After 1990, Mongolia shifted away from the Soviet model and adopted the American Model of education.

This time the curriculum is diversified, financing is now a shared responsibility, equal rights to education, decentralized administration, student-centered instruction and a more democratic ideology (R.Bat-Erdene, Costa, & Yeager, 1996). Despite the changes, social negative phenomena are worsening like increases on unemployment and poverty. At the same time the availability and quality of basic education are worsening. The factors stated below are just some of the possible reasons why Mongolia still belongs to one of the poorest countries in the world (Pastore, 2010).

The following will discuss how the changes in the educational system are affecting the economy of Mongolia. First, the delegation of power and authority from the state to educational institutions promotes institutional autonomy and academic freedom for both the teachers (Bat-Erdene, 2007). That is, these institutions have the liberty to apply their own management rules and policies. The problem is the authority figures responsible in implementing change lack the administrative and management skills and experience needed for a successful transition (R.

Bat-Erdene, Costa, & Yeager, 1996). Moreover, the financial capacity of the universities is also problematic. Although the increased financial needs of the universities are being balanced off by increasing number of enrolled students there are still deficits (*). Financial deficit of the universities results in a low quality of teaching and capacity for human resources (*). Second, academic