Educational Opportunities and Education

Immigration in the United States

In the United States, there is a general believe that education attainment is correlated with high income. People with the college graduate diploma earns a higher income than less educated American population. More importantly, education has become significantly linked with another outcome in life that includes life expectancy and ability to get married or taking care of children. Despite the benefits associated with college education, the gap between the more educated and less educated people in the United States is becoming wider. (Greenstone, and Looney, 1). The outcome of the investigation carried out by the Hamilton Project with reference to the impact of education on people's well-being shows that education is the major determinants of securing the high paying jobs. Typically, less educated American earn a small percentage of what high educated people earn. Typically, more than 80% of school dropouts earn less than $30,000 yearly in 2010, however, the college graduates earns up to $100,000 per year, and more than 90% of the high-paying jobs in the United States require college graduate diploma. In the present contemporary economic environments where education and skills are highly prized, people with a high school diploma have a little chance of securing highest paying jobs. (Greenstone, Harris, Li 5).

Additionally, people without a high school diploma are likely to earn less from their jobs, they are also not likely to hold the jobs for a long time compared with more educated counterparts. In 2009, 50% of people reaching the working ages without the school diploma were not employed. However, more than 85% of people with college graduate had jobs. The challenges of the less skilled category of people findings jobs affect them and the community because the lack of jobs increases the crime rates as well as creating broader costs on the society.

Attaining the higher education increase the chance of getting married, improving children standard of education, and raising children out of poverty. Children of people without higher education are likely to drop out from schools. Moreover, education increases the chance of living healthier and longer life. Psacharopoulos, uses the human capital theory to demonstrate the return on educational investment. The author argues that the education is a good investment because it allows people to improve their well-being. "The model of academic success" (Schneider, and Lee, 358) also reveals that education is commensurate to the economic success. Many Asian-Americans have been able to secure high-paying jobs in the United States because they excel in mathematics than the American counterpart. Typically, a large majority of American companies continues recruiting Indians for jobs that involve quantitative and technical skills.

Are educational opportunities equal?

Despite the benefits of education, the educational opportunities are not equal in the United States. The educational inequality is referred as difference in learning, and is attributed to the ethnicity and family background. Presently, there is a growing gap in the attainment of higher education between the American White and Hispanic-Americans. Typically, the percentage of White ethnic group with at least Bachelor degree is higher than African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. For example, 51% of adult White population has at least a bachelor degree while 17% of adult African-Americans have at least a bachelor degree, 11% for Hispanic adult population and 16% of American Indians. Since higher educational attainment is linked to the higher income, large percentages of children born with white parents are likely receiving a better education than children born with from Africa Americans or Hispanic parents.

How are educational opportunities reproduced through structural mechanisms?

The structural mechanisms are the factors that reproduce the educational opportunities. It is essential to realize large percentages of people who make decisions about the education opportunities are the White ethnic group. Naturally, they design the educations to their advantages. For example, the communities with large percentages of the White population normally have the best public elementary and high schools in the United States. These schools generally have the best resources to impact with the best education on students. On the other hand, schools in the communities of underprivileged minority groups generally have the low facilities compared with the schools with White communities. Thus, this structural mechanism of the American society affect the educational opportunities. More importantly, America society consists of structural economic and social inequalities. Kalleberg, et al. argue that the individual attainment of educational opportunities is shaped by organizational opportunity structure and characteristics of a given society. Similarly, attainment of the education opportunities is shaped by individual education and experience. Inequality associated with the occupational status and income are based on the stratification of the American society. Thus, the outcome of the structural stratification is that people with the best education and high income send their children to the best schools, which will assist their children to climb the top ladder and earn fat income in the society. Contrarily, low-income people may face challenges in sending their children to the best schools, and these children have the highest possibility of dropping out from schools consequently affecting their income earning levels. Unless the policy makers make a drastic decision to implement fundamental changes to close the gap between the rich and the poor, the structural mechanism of the American society will continue benefitting the White majority.

What types of schools do today's second-generation generation attend and how does this vary by national origin and class?

The second generation is the American citizens born in the United States with at least one foreign-born parent. Large percentages of the second generation Americans who are Mexican-Americans have at least one immigrant parent. However, the second generation Americans are of disadvantages with reference to the educational opportunities. Schhneider, Martinez. and Ownes cite the examples of the Hispanic students who face accumulated disadvantages with reference to the educational opportunities. The authors argue that many Hispanics children start formal schooling without social and economic resources. They often end up in attending the ill equipped schools. By consequence, they fail to receive high standard educational instructions compared with students born with the first generation Americans. Although, most parents of the second generation American believe that the higher educational attainment is the key to earning a higher income, nevertheless, they fail to earn at least a bachelor degree. For example, the Mexican-Americans who are the fastest growing second generation Americans receive the least level of educational attainments. (Schhneider, Martinez. and Ownes).

Despite the argument of the authors about educational attainment of the second generation American, the data presented the Census Bureau in 2010 reveals percentages of the second generation Americans with at least a bachelor degree is higher than the percentages of the first generation Americans with a bachelor degree. (See Fig 1). The theory of assimilation reveals that people are likely to assimilate themselves into the American society faster than other European countries.

Do cultural explanations or structural explanations better explain the differential patterns of educational attainment by race/ethnicity?

Analysis of the American society reveals that the structural factors cultural explanations affect the different pattern of education attainment of the different ethnic group. The U.S. population composes of different ethnic groups where large percentages of the ethnic minorities are deprived of the material resources to achieve a better education. One of the major challenges that many ethnic groups face in the American society is the ability to communicate in a standard English. Many minority ethnic groups communicate with the native language thereby affecting their children's level of English understanding. Moreover, White ethnic groups compose of a large percentage of people who make policy about the American educational systems. Thus, the policy makers naturally implement policies that will favor their ethnic group.

Schhneider, Martinez. and Ownes argue that Hispanic students attend ill-equipped schools because of their high poverty level. Thus, they attend schools that have 50% of minority students population. Moreover, Hispanic students are likely to attend schools with noncertified and inexperienced teachers. Most private and public schools with the highest percentage of the limited-English proficient and minority students are likely to employ the beginning teachers than schools that with the largest percentage of White ethnics student population.

What is the model minority stereotype and what are the problems associated with this idea?

A model minority stereotype is the belief that a member of certain ethnic group achieves better social and economic class than other ethnic groups. The model measures the success in term of education, income and high family stability. In the American society, Hispanic-American are being stereotyped as the least educated ethnic group in the United States. The model also views American Asian as the most educated minority group in the United States. For example, 74.1% of Taiwan Americans have at least a bachelor degree. Moreover, 72.8% Korean-Americans and 67.9% of Indian-American have at least a bachelor degree. Thus, there is a general believe that people with high level of education are likely to secure high paying jobs. Thus, the model reveals that Asian-Americans are likely to secure high paying jobs than the Hispanic-Americans whose largest percentage of them are without the high school diploma. The problem associated with the idea is that the issue is likely to be continued in the future with people since people with high level of education are likely to secure high paying jobs than people without high school diploma. It is essential to realize that American society is being structured in such a way that highly skilled people are likely to earn a high income in the United States. The general problem is that there will be a time where low skilled workforce will not be able to secure meaningful job in the United States because the American society is being tailored towards that systems.