Knowledge and power in education

Knowledge & Power in Education

When it comes to the educational system of the United States, it is clear that there are a number of factors and facets that influence and bounce off of each other. Whether it be knowledge, power or how both of the former influence the stratifications that are seen along racial and class/socioeconomic lines, it is clear that there are some powerful yet sometimes nefarious forces at work. The ideas and theories surrounding these topics shall be the focus of this brief literature review. Rather than just being a summary of the sources covered, there shall also be some analysis. While race and class relations are better in many respects, there are still some glaring problems that still fester and manifest.

Summary & Analysis

The first source consulted for this report cites a "diversity paradox" that has seemingly arisen. It refers to the commonly known paradigm and subject of social justice, but in a rather negative way. Indeed, Brenda Juarez asserts that social justice is just about white people and that it does not help minority students at all. In fact, she and her co-authors refer to the conditions of American public schools as being Apartheid-like in nature. Their quibble with social justice seems to come from the perspective that teaching is centered on normal and nuclear two-parent families that speak English fluently (Juarez, Smith & Hayes, 2017). To say the least, this will marginalize a lot of Hispanic and African-American students. There are certainly problems in schools that are minority-dominant and the same schools that do have such demographics and the ones that are the poorest are often one and the same. Whether this means that poverty is the main issue or if there is a racism or bigotry aspect would seem to be up for debate with a lot of people.

One alternate perspective is offered by Linwood Cousins and a few others. Their firmly stated goal is to deal with the "supply side" of the problem and that is to make sure that African-American children get better and more complete education in science and mathematics (Linwood, Mickelson, Williams & Velasco, 2008). This approach will obviously not fix instances of systemic or societal racism. However, poverty is indeed one of the main catalysts to what is going on with minorities and their struggles and thus them getting a better education can only help them in the long run. Finally, there is the alternate perspective that looks at issues surrounding Arabs in the United States. Indeed, the stated challenge is creating "equitable" learning environments for Arab-American students. There are numerous points of evidence and anecdotes given that Arabs often do not face a fair fight when it comes to how society and even the government perceive them (El-Haj, 2006). Given the rawness that the 9/11 and other terrorist attacks (e.g. Orlando, San Bernardino, etc.), this is not entirely surprising. However, it is still wrong. Arab immigrants that are present in the United States and that are willing to live and behave as Americans (or at least lawful residents) should not be harassed or harangued.

Conclusion