Emergent issues in education: Comparative perspectives

Arnove, R. F., Altbach, P. G., & Kelly, G. P. (1992). Emergent issues in education: Comparative perspectives. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Part III. Theoretical frameworks

7. Conceptualizing education and the drive for social equality (Farrell, J. P.)

• Components of national development (p. 107)
  
  • The generation of more wealth within a nation (economic development)
  • The more equitable distribution of such wealth, or at least more equitable distribution of opportunity for access to that wealth (social development)
  • The organization of political decision-making structures which would be close approximations of those prevalent in the West (political development)
    
• A model of educational inequality (p. 111)
  
  • equality of access: the probabilities of children from different social groupings getting into the school system (学校数量）
    
  • equality of survival: the probabilities of children from various social groupings staying in the school system to some defined level, usually the end of a complete cycle (primary, secondary, higher) （在校年份）
    
  • equality of output: the probabilities of children from various social groupings will learn the same things to the same level at a defined point in the school system （学习成效）
    
  • equality of outcome: the probabilities of children from various social groupings will live relatively similar lives subsequent to and as a result of schooling (have equal incomes, have jobs of roughly the same status, have equal access to positions of political power, etc) （毕业回报）

8. Conceptualizing the role of education in the economy

• Human capital theory
  
• Neoclassical model:
• Criticism
• Alternative conceptual frameworks
  
  • Institutional approaches
  • Radical economics perspectives
  • The political economy of educational policy-making
    

Part V. Assessing the outcomes of reforms

18. National literacy campaigns in historical and comparative perspective: Legacies, lessons, and issues (Arnove, R. F., & Graff, H. J.)

• Legacies and lessons (p. 286)
  
  • literacy effort need to last long enough to be effective
  • local initiative should be mobilized in conjunction with national will
  • there will be a significant minority who will oppose or not be reached by literacy efforts of centralized authorities
  • eventually emphasis will have to be placed on schooling for youth (in order to head off future illiteracy)
  • literacy must be viewed and understood in its various contexts
    
• Literacy must be contextually defined and continually reappraised
  
  • Literacy takes on meaning in particular historical and social formation
  • A process of deskilling (e.g., basic adult ed program's goal "is not ultimately a critical and imaginative literacy but an etiquette, an ability to perform tasks whose value refers not to the life experiences of the student but to the institution of education. p. 293)
  • It's only potential empowerment; certain groups try to prevent or control the provision of literacy
  • literacy is fundamentally a political issue involving these questions: What sort of society do we want? Are we seriously interested in improving the skills and training of the poorly educated? Will we make this a priority, and commit funds and expertise in an age of dwindling resources? p. 294