Misunderstanding Education: Why Increasing College Enrollments Can't and Won't Fix the Economy

Autor/in	Wolf, Alison
Titel	Misunderstanding Education: Why Increasing College Enrollments Can't and Won't Fix the Economy
Quelle	In: Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 41 (2009) 4, S.10-17 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0009-1383
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Economic Progress; Labor Market; College Graduates; Developing Nations; Higher Education; Dropout Rate; Dropouts; Foreign Countries; Global Approach; Enrollment; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Economic growth; Wirtschaftswachstum; Labour market; Arbeitsmarkt; Hochschulabsolvent; Hochschulabsolventin; Developing country; Developing countries; Entwicklungsland; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Ausland; Globales Denken; Einschulung; Großbritannien
Abstract	The College Board has just published a "Wake-up Call to the American People and American Educators." In a report entitled "Coming to Our Senses," it argues that this "nation's dominant position in the world order is at great risk.... Across the globe, leaders have put their faith in education. They understand that economic growth rests largely on the quality of a nation's human resources... [and] many of us have been asleep at the switch." It is critical, they argue, for the country to reduce college drop-out rates and increase the numbers of Americans who graduate by their mid-20s--and, obviously, to come up with the public spending that such an imperative requires. It would be wonderful for universities if this were true. Unfortunately it is not. Instead, this argument misrepresents what degrees do for the individual. And it misrepresents what college graduates do for the economy at large. There are three reasons why people cannot simply assume that a year in college, or a college degree, automatically makes everyone first more skilled, and then more productive, and so more prosperous. The first is that education is about sorting people out, not just about teaching and learning. The second is that not all degrees are created equal. And the third is the nature of the job market. In summary, education helps people get ahead. In a recession, no one will take much persuading that college is one of the best purchases that they, as individuals, can make. But what college does is put an individual in there with a chance; a college degree suggests that he may be better positioned than other people competing for the same jobs who don't have the degree. That is a very different thing from being a way for countries to deliver economic growth overall. (Contains 5 figures and 4 resources.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Heldref Publications. 1319 Eighteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036-1802. Tel: 800-365-9753; Tel: 202-296-6267; Fax: 202-293-6130; e-mail: subscribe@heldref.org; Web site: http://www.heldref.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10