美国教育政策英文.docx

美国教育政策英文.docx

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美国教育政策英文

UnitedStatesEducationalPolicy-TheBasicsofEducationalPolicy,ThePressureforReforminAmericanEducation,DefiningPolicy

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UnitedStatesEducationalPolicy-TheBasicsofEducationalPolicy,ThePressureforReforminAmericanEducation,DefiningPolicy-StateU

Educationisaninstrumentofthebroadersocialorder.Whensocietychanges,education,soonerorlater,alsochanges.Fewactivitiesoragencies,however,changeasslowly,orinsuchsmallincrements,asformaleducation–bothschoolsandcollegesaswellasbothpublicandprivateinstitutions.Education'srootsaredeepandwide,penetratingalmosteveryfacetofsociety.Hence,educationissubjecttovirtuallyeverypoliticalforce,includingthosethatwantchangeandthosethatwanttoprotectthestatusquo.

PublicK–12education–whichoperatesacrossfiftystates,14,000localschooldistricts,and100,000schools;involves5millionemployeesandmorethan48millionstudents;andcostsmorethan$2billioneachday–istoolarge,toocostly,andtooenmeshedinpoliticaldynamicstochangequickly.Postsecondaryinstitutions–collegesanduniversities–havebecomeequallyponderous.Withtheadventofpost–WorldWarIIenrollmentincreases;thesignificanceofuniversity-basedresearchforpreservingthenation'seconomic,medical,andmilitarypreeminence;andthesubstantialassumptionofstudentfinancialaidbygovernment,highereducationalsohasbecomeamajorfeatureofthepoliticallandscapeandbecomeengulfedbymuchoftheinertiathatimmobilizeslowerschools.

FormostofAmericanhistory,thenation'smostprestigiouselementaryandsecondaryschoolsandelitecollegeshavebeenfewinnumber,andtheirprivatechartersandreligiousaffiliationshaverenderedthemgenerallyindependentofgovernment.Butforcollegesanduniversities,nearlyallofwhich,intheearlytwenty-firstcentury,areacceptingstudentfinancial-aidsubsidiesfromgovernmentandengagingingovernment-sponsoredresearch,thissituationhaschanged.Governmentnowisamajorconstituentforhighereducation,bothpublicandprivate.

Evenforprivatepreparatoryandreligiouselementaryandsecondaryschools,theconditionofindependencefromgovernmentcouldchange.IftheU.S.SupremeCourtapprovesallocationofpublicfundsforprivateandreligiousinstitutions,privateschoolscouldcomeunderthefullumbrellaofpublicpolicyinthesamewayastheirpublicinstitutionalcounterparts.

Still,evenassubjectsofincreasingpoliticization,andevenifonlyataglacialpace,schoolsandcollegesdochange.Formaleducationattheonsetofthetwenty-firstcenturyexhibitedmanydifferencesfromthatofeventhirtyyearsprevious,anditcertainlywasdifferentfromwhatchildrenandparentsexperiencedintheearlypartofthetwentiethcentury.

TheBasicsofEducationalPolicy

Societiesrelyupontheinformalsocializationofyouthandimmigrantsandtheformaleducationofcitizenstopreservethepolityandfacilitatepursuitofindividuals'collectiveandpersonalpreferences.Becauseofthismediatingroleinmaintainingasociety,formaleducationsystems,andthosewhosteerthem,areunusuallysensitivetoalterationsincitizens'willorshiftsindecisionmakers'views.Whenasocietyperceivesitselfsubjectedtothreatorisengrossedinamajoreconomic,technological,demographic,orecologicaltransformation,theeducationsystemisaprincipalinstrumenttowhichitturnsinordertoadjusttochangeandseekanewsocialequilibrium.

Thelargerandmoredemocraticasociety,thelesslinearandlesstransparentitseducationsystemalterationswillbe.Inadictatorshipornarrowoligarchy,itisrelativelyeasytochangeaneducationsystem.Inthebooming,buzzingcacophonyoftheopen,moderninformationageandagloballyinterdependentsociety,educationreformisepisodic,conflictprone,inconsistent,and,sometimespainful.

Indeed,themoreporousanddynamicasociety,themoreinconsistentandconflictualitseffortstochangeitseducationsystemwillappear.Interestsdeeplyrootedinspheressuchaseconomics,religion,ideology,institutions,geography,race,andethnicitywillvietohavetheirworldviewrepresentedmostforcefullyinwhatevereducationsystememerges.Thesearethecentrifugalforcesthatthreatenthemomentumandunityofanysociety.Counteringthesearecentripetal（unifying）forces,mostlyinstitutions,ideologies,andinfluentialindividualsthatseekconsensusandcohesion.Itisthetensionbetweenthesedynamicsthateventuallyshapeschangestoademocracy'seducationsystem.

ThePressureforReforminAmericanEducation

Thetwentiethcentury,particularlyitslasttwodecades,representedaperiodofremarkablyintensechange.AbriefreviewofwhattookplacegloballyduringthisperiodsuggeststhereasonwhyAmerica'seducationsystemhasbeenundersuchintensepressuretoreform.

Thepost–WorldWarIIcoldwarrivalrybetweenEastandWestendedintheearly1990s.Democraticcapitalismgenerallysurmountedtotalitariansocialismtobecometheworld'sdominantpoliticaleconomy.Moderncommunicationandtransportationtechnologiescontributedtogloballyoriented,highlymobile,andrapidlypacedsocieties.Economicdevelopmentscreatedaheretofore-unknowndegreeofindividual,organizational,andinternationalinterdependence.TheUnitedStatesemergedastheleadingeconomicandpoliticalpowerintheworld.Thiscondition,coupledwithglobalization,generatedaddeddiplomatic,military,andhumanitarianresponsibilitiesforthenationanditscitizens.

TheUnitedStatesisfortunateinhavingvastresources.Ithasbecomeexpected,however,todeploytheserichesnotonlyfortheprotectionandpromotionofitscitizensbutalsoforthewell-beingoftheworld.IssuesofhealthinAfrica,overpopulationinAsia,politicalinstabilityinLatinAmerica,religiousconflictintheMiddleEast,traderestrictionsinEurope,ozonedepletioninAntarctica,overfishingintheNorthAtlantic,oricecapreductionsintheArcticarenolongerremoteissues.TheeventualoutcomeoftheseconditionsnowmattersasmuchforachildbeingraisedonaproductivefamilyfarminSouthDakotaastoanapartheid-liberatedfarmfamilyinSouthAfrica.

Thisnewandfast-pacedworldhasdampenedsomeoldissues.Widespreadfearsofnuclearannihilation,pestilence,andglobalfaminehavebecomeameliorated.Butage-oldconcernsregardingreligiousandracialintolerance,socialinjustice,economicinequality,anddiscouraginginstancesofinhumanityhavebynomeansbeeneliminated.Evenafewnewissueshaveevolved,forexample,fearofwidespreadenvironmentaldegradationanduneveneconomicdevelopmentbetweennationsinthenorthernandsouthernhemispheres.

Inmakingitsadjustmentstothenewglobalworld,Americaneducationpolicyismovingontwofrontssimultaneously.First,thenewworldordernecessitatesthateveryonebeeducated.Hence,issuesofaccessandequalityremainimportant.Second,itisnolongersufficientthatindividualssimplybeexposedtoschooling,itisincreasinglyimportantthattheyactuallylearn.Hence,theadditionalpolicypressureistorendereducationinstitutionseffective,bothinachievingtheirobjectivesandintheuseofthevastresourcestheycommand.Theupshotisthatbothequalityandefficiencyareparamountissuesontheeducationpolicyagenda.Whenpressuresemerge,however,formaximizationofthesetwoends,then,inevitably,counterforcesariseoutofreactiontoprotectandextendtheotherpolicyobjective,liberty.

DefiningPolicy

Policyisoneoftheprincipalvectorsthroughwhichinfluenceflowsbetweenthelargersocietyandeducationinstitutions.Thetermpolicyreferstothedecisionsandrulesenactedbythethreebranchesofgovernmentatalllevels–national,state,andlocal.Thepolicypipelineiscapableofreciprocaltransmission.Whereassociety'spreferencesshapeandcontinuallyreshapeeducation,theoutcomesofeducationcontinuallyinfluencethevaluesandpreferencesofthebroadersociety.

ThewordpolicyisderivedfromtheGreekpolis,referringtocityorcitizen.SubsequentRomanusageledtothetermpolity,meaninggovernment,governmentorganization,regime,ornation.Inmodernparlance,policyreferstoauniformdecisionrule,aregulation,orasetofprescriptionsthatappliesinallsimilarcircumstances.Thetermpublicpolicyreferstoagovernment-specifiedor-enacteddecisionrule.Ofcourse,whenpeoplespeakofeducationpolicy,oratleastpubliceducationpolicy,theyarereferringtogovernmentdecisionrulesregardingeducation,schools,colleges,orrelatedmatters.

Governmentrulesregardingschoolattendance,graduation,collegeentry,whatwillbestudied,whowillteach,whowillbepaid,andwhowillpayareallillustrationsofeducationpolicies.Policiesareenactedbyallthreebranchesofgovernmentintheformofexecutiveordersfromthepresident,governors,andmayors;statutesandordinancesenactedbylegislativebodiessuchastheU.S.Congress,statelegislatures,andcitycouncils;andjudicialdecisionsissuedbycourts.

ThePublicValuesUnderlyingEducationPolicy

Americanculturecontainsthreestronglyheldvaluesthatsignificantlyinfluencepublicpolicyingeneralandeducationpolicyspecifically.Theyareequality,efficiency,andliberty.Governmentactionsregardingnationaldefense,housing,taxation,antitrustregulation,racialdesegregation,andliterallyhundredsofotherpolicydimensions,includingeducation,aremotivatedandmoldedbyoneormoreofthesethreevalues.

Theoverwhelmi