Structural inequality in education

Education is the base for equality.^[4] Specifically in the structuring of schools, the concept of tracking is believed by some scholars to create a social disparity in providing students an equal education.^[5] Schools have been found to have a unique acculturative process that helps to pattern self-perceptions and world views. Schools not only provide education but also a setting for students to develop into adults, form future social status and roles, and maintain social and organizational structures of society.^[4][5] Tracking is an educational term that indicates where students will be placed during their secondary school years.^[3] "Depending on how early students are separated into these tracks, determines the difficulty in changing from one track to another" (Grob, 2003, p. 202).^[4]

Tracking or sorting categorizes students into different groups based on standardized test scores. These groups or tracks are vocational, general, and academic. Students are sorted into groups that will determine educational and vocational outcomes for the future.^[5] The sorting that occurs in the educational system parallels the hierarchical social and economic structures in society. Thus, students are viewed and treated differently according to their individual track. Each track has a designed curriculum that is meant to fit the unique educational and social needs of each sorted group.^[5] Consequently, the information taught as well as the expectations of the teachers differ based on the track resulting in the creation of dissimilar classroom cultures.

Not only the classes that students take, but the school they are enrolled in has been shown to have an effect on their educational success and social mobility, especially ability to graduate from college.^[6] Simply being enrolled in a school with less access to resources, or in an area with a high concentration of racial minorities, makes one much less likely to gain access to prestigious four-year colleges. For example, there are far fewer first time freshmen within the University of California (UC) system who graduate from schools where the majority population is an underrepresented racial minority group. Students from these schools comprise only 22.1% of the first time freshmen within the UC system, whereas students from majority white schools make up 65.3% of the first time freshman population.^[7] At more prestigious schools, like UC Berkeley, the division is even more pronounced. Only 15.2% of first time freshmen who attend the university came from schools with a high percentage of underrepresented minorities.^[7]

Issues of structural inequality are probably also at fault for the low numbers of students from underserved backgrounds graduating from college. Out of the entire population of low-income youth in the US, only 13% receive a bachelor's degree by the time they are 28.^[8] Students from racial minorities are similarly disadvantaged. Hispanic students are half as likely to attend college than white students and black students are 25% less likely. Despite increased attention and educational reform, this gap has increased in the past 30 years.^[9]

The costs required to attend college also contribute to the structural inequality in education. The higher educational system in the United States relies on public funding to support the universities. However, even with the public funding, policymakers have voiced their desire to have universities become less dependent on government funding and to compete for other sources of funding.^[10] The result of this could sway many students from low-income backgrounds from attending higher institutions due to the inability of paying to attend. In a 2013 study by the National Center for Educational Statistics, only 49% of students from low-income families that graduated from high school immediately enrolled into college.^[11] In comparison, students from high-income families had an 80%immediate college enrollment rate.^[11] Furthermore, in another 2013 report, over 58% of low-income families were minorities.^[12] In the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported survey, researchers discovered that 6 in 10 students that dropped out was due to the inability to pay for the cost of attending themselves and without help from their families.^[13]

Gaps in the availability of technology, the digital divide, are gradually decreasing as more people purchase home computers and the ratio of students to computers within schools continues to decreases. However, inequities in access to technology still exist due to the lack of teacher training and, subsequently, confidence in use of technologic tools; the diverse needs of students; and administrative pressures to increase test scores.^[14][15] These inequities are noticeably different between high need (HN) and low need (LN) populations. In a survey of teachers participating in an e-Learning for Educators online professional development workshop, Chapman^[14] finds that HN schools need increased access and teacher training in technology resources. Though results vary in their level of significance, teachers of non-HN schools report more confidence in having adequate technical abilities to simply participate in the workshop; later surveys showed that teachers of HN schools report that "they use, or will use, technology in the classroom more after the workshop" less likely than that of teachers of non-HN schools. Additionally, teachers from HN schools report less access to technology as well as lower technical skills and abilities (p. 246). Even when teachers in low-SES schools had confidence in their technical skills, other they faced other obstacles, including larger numbers of English language learners and at-risk students, larger numbers of students with limited computer experience, and greater pressure to increase test scores and adhere to policy mandates.^[16]

Other structural inequalities in access to technology exist in differences in the ratio of students to computers within public schools. Correlations show that as the number of minorities enrolled in a school increase so, too, does the ratio of students to computers, 4.0:1 in schools with 50% or more minority enrollment versus 3.1 in schools with 6% or less minority enrollment (as cited in Warschauer, 2010, p. 188-189). Within school structures, low-socioeconomic status (SES) schools tended to have less stable teaching staff, administrative staff, and IT support staff, which contributed to teachers being less likely to incorporate technology in their curriculum for lack of support.^[15]

The challenge of the new millennium will include a realignment in focus to include "the curriculum as disabled, rather than students, their insights in translating principles of universal design, which originated in architecture, to education commensurate with advances characterized as a major paradigm shift."^[17]

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). The LRE means that children with disabilities must be educated in regular classrooms with their non-disabled peers with the appropriate supports and services.^[18]

An individual with a disability is also protected under American with Disabilities Act (ADA) which is defined as any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Assistive technology which supports individuals with disabilities covering a wide range of areas from cognitive to physical limitations, plays an important role.

School finance is another area where social injustice and inequality might exist. Districts in wealthier areas typically receive more Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funds for total (e.g. restricted and unrestricted) expenditures per pupil than socio-economically disadvantaged districts, therefore, a wealthier school district will receive more funding than a socio-economically disadvantaged school district. "Most U.S. schools are underfunded. Schools in low wealth states and districts are especially hard hit, with inadequate instructional materials, little technology, unsafe buildings, and less-qualified teachers" (p. 31)^[19] The method in which funds are distributed or allocated within a school district can also be of concern. De facto segregation can occur in districts or educational organizations that passively promote racial segregation. Epstein (2006) stated the "Two years after the victorious Supreme Court decision against segregation, Oakland's"... "school board increased Oakland's segregation by spending $40 million from a bond election to build..." a "... High School, and then establishing a ten-mile long, two-mile wide attendance boundary, which effectively excluded almost every black and Latino student in the city" (p. 28).^[20]

Since the early 19th Century policymakers have developed a plethora of educational programs, each with its own particular structural inequality.^[21] The mechanisms involved in the allocation of state funding have changed significantly over time. In the past, public schools were primarily funded by property taxes. Funding was supplemented by other state sources. In the early 19th century, policymakers recognized districts relying on property tax could lead to significant disparities in the amount of funding per student.^[22]: 64

Thus, policymakers began to analyze the elements of disparity and sought means to address it, numbers of teachers, quality of facilities and materials. To address disparity some states implemented Flat Grants, which typically allocate funding based on the number of teachers. However, this often magnified the disparity, since wealthy communities would have fewer students per teacher.^[22]: 64

In their attempt to reduce disparity policymakers in 1920 designed what they call the Foundation Program. The stated purpose was to equalize per-pupil revenue across districts. The goal was achieved by setting a target per-pupil revenue level, and the state supplying funding to equalize revenue in underserved districts. Some analyst characterized the program as a hoax because its structure allowed wealthier districts to exceed the target per-pupil revenue level.^[22]: 65

Also in order to aid persons with categories of issues, policymakers designed Categorical Programs. The purpose of these programs are to target disparity in poor districts, which do not take into account district wealth. Overtime, policymakers began to allocate funding that takes into consideration pupil needs along with the wealth of the district.^[22]: 66

An identified inequality that negatively affects health and wellness among minority races is highly correlated with income, wealth, social capital, and, indirectly, education. Researchers have been able to identify significant gaps that exist in mortality rates of African Americans and Caucasian Americans. There has not been significant changes in the major factors of income, wealth, social capital/psycho-social environment, and socioeconomic status, that positively impact the existing inequality. Studies have noted significant correlations between these factors and major health issues. For example, poor socioeconomic status is strongly correlated with cardiovascular disease.^[23]