Educational inequality along racial lines in American schools

¶ … Educational Inequality Along Racial Lines

The role of education in the American society cannot be overemphasized. Education plays an important role in equipping students with knowledge and skills for transforming their life and the society at large. Also, the education system instills appropriate values, behaviors, and attitudes in students, making them useful members of the society. Nonetheless, while education is important, it tends to reinforce the existing social inequality, particularly along racial lines. Funding inequalities and learning outcomes between schools from privileged backgrounds and those from unprivileged backgrounds attest to this. This paper examines inequality in education along racial lines. The paper specifically focuses on four aspects: the role of education from two sociological perspectives; the role of funding in producing educational inequality along racial lines; America's cultural diversity (in terms of race, gender, ethnicity and class) and the educator's role in promoting cultural diversity; as well as an anti-racist tool that can be used to teach students tolerance for racial and cultural diversity.

The Role of Education: Two Contrasting Views

The role of education in the American society can be viewed from two contrasting sociological perspectives. The traditional perspective, also known as the functionalist perspective, argues that education is crucial for social mobility (Farley, 2012). Simply, education provides one an opportunity to advance in the society. By providing individuals with training, education enables people to pursue professions. Employers in turn reward workers for their knowledge and performance, consequently enabling people to fulfill their needs such as housing, food, and clothing. In essence, education is an important tool for socioeconomic empowerment. It is through education that individuals acquire the means to thrive in the society.

While education is essential for social mobility, a differing view asserts this may not always be true. Indeed, this view has increasingly gained support amongst sociologists. The conflicting view argues that the nature of the education system does not provide much opportunity for social mobility to disadvantaged populations, particularly the poor (Farley, 2012). Instead, education tends to compound the existing social inequality. It is quite unrealistic to expect education to address equality when the broader socioeconomic system is founded upon inequality. For social equality in the society to be achieved, the answer lies not in education for everyone, but in changing the socioeconomic system to ensure income equality. This view, however, does not necessarily imply that education for everyone is not important. The fundamental argument is that economic privilege for all is more essential than just access to education. More importantly, education for all may not necessarily eliminate the underlying forces that create economic inequality, underscoring the need for changing the larger socioeconomic system.

The argument that education mainly serves the interests of the economically advantaged is particularly true for the American society. In spite of tremendous progress in increasing access to education, Whites and the rich tend to benefit more from education compared to minorities and the poor (Farley, 2012). Education for students from economically advantaged backgrounds serves to transmit to them the same advantages their parents have. Ultimately, the status quo remains unchanged or worsens -- the poor remain poor, and the privileged become more privileged.

Funding and Educational Inequality

One way through which the education system contributes to inequality is funding. In the U.S., schools with predominantly minority populations (African America, Latin America, or Indian-American) have historically been underfunded compared to schools with predominantly White (majority) populations (Farley, 2012). While this trend has reduced over the years, it still remains. Underfunding has much to do with the manner in which school funding in the country is done. Generally, schools get approximately 50% of their funding from the statement government, while much of the remaining portion is funded through the local property tax (Farley, 2012). The amount of local property tax varies significantly from one state to another since different states tend to have different property values. Accordingly, wealthier states or communities get more revenue from local property tax compared to poorer states or communities. This means that schools in wealthier states or communities receive greater funding for education compared to their counterparts in poorer states or communities. Minority communities in the U.S. are generally poorer than White communities, meaning that students from minority backgrounds are more affected by underfunding. This problem is further compounded by the comparatively high cost of education in poor backgrounds (Farley, 2012). The higher cost of education in schools in poor or minority backgrounds often stems from the numerous issues and problems these schools have to deal with, further exacerbating the underfunding problem.

Some of the problems schools in minority communities have to deal with relate to or stem from culture and behavior. Indeed, whereas underfunding is a major problem in minority communities, the influence of cultural and behavioral factors cannot be ignored. Cultural background has actually been found to be closely associated with learning in the U.S. As per the cultural deprivation theory, the poor and minorities tend to have certain characteristics that place them at a disadvantage in terms of performance at school (Farley, 2012). They experience relatively limited access to television and other similar items at home as well as reading materials such as daily newspapers, books, and magazines. Also, minority communities are often characterized by somewhat broken family structures and little parental interest in children's education. These aspects can hinder learning as they tend to influence the attitudes and behaviors of children while in school (Farley, 2012). They may result in a poor self-image, reduced interest in school, and little determination to succeed.

From the cultural bias perspective, however, the problem lies not in the characteristics of minority populations but in the schools, themselves. This perspective holds that low achievement amongst minority students stems from the fact that schools expect students to conform to certain habits, values, and attitudes (Farley, 2012). Accordingly, those who do not conform are punished. In most cases, it is minority students who are subject to punishment as they come from backgrounds where those values and behaviors are not norms.

Anti-Racist Tool

Teaching Tolerance (n.d.) provides valuable educational tools teachers can use to teach children tolerance and respect for diversity. The tools are particularly geared towards reducing racial prejudice and enhancing interracial relationships in school. One tool that can be used in the classroom to reduce racial prejudice is the anti-bias framework (ABF). The framework covers four areas: identity, diversity, justice, and action. These domains essentially embody the value of social justice within the education system. Through this framework, the educator can make students understand the multiple dimensions of their identity, teach students how to appreciate diversity in the world around them, familiarize students with bias and injustice as well as their impact, and teach students what they can do to eliminate racial bias and injustice. A major advantage of this tool is that it includes specifications for each grade level (Teaching Tolerance, n.d.). It can, therefore, be used for all students irrespective of their grade level.

Conclusion

Overall, though education is undoubtedly crucial for social mobility in the society, its contribution to inequality cannot be ignored. Owing to the nature of the education system, coupled with the broader social and economic system, advantaged or privileged populations tend to benefit more from education compared to disadvantaged populations, thereby exacerbating the existing social inequality. Major victims of this inequality are racial minorities. Compared to the majority, these communities have historically grappled with inadequate school funding, which has placed them at a disadvantage in terms of learning outcomes and social mobility. The disadvantage experienced by minority communities further stems from their cultural and behavioral characteristics, which tend to hinder learning. With the American society increasingly becoming racially and culturally diverse, the inequalities generated by the education system ought to be addressed. Learning institutions must cultivate a more culturally-sensitive environment.