Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Research Proposal

Jared Novak
Professor Goeller
Research in the Disciplines
October 21, 2014

Working Title: College For All: An Outdated and Detrimental Ideology
Topic: Research will be conducted on the outdated American ideology that in order to succeed one must attend and graduate from college. This paper will explain how this concept is creating an educational bubble, increasing student debt via such means as privatization, states being unable to provide adequate funding due to increasing student populations, and a focus on an individual’s success in an increasingly standardized system as opposed to communal success like in Germany.
Research Question: How has an obsolete ideology increased privatization and created an educational bubble? What could be done to rectify a system which emphasizes success of the individual over that of the community?  How does the American education system compare to that of the German education system?
Theoretical Frame or Approach: The bubble theory of the America’s higher education system, as of now, will be expresses through the research conducted by Melvyn Fein. She states that like the Housing Bubble the American Education system is in the midst of a similar situation. The results of the Housing Bubble are used to explain what will happen to the educational one. Fein also delves into the various solutions that have been offered which will alter or reform higher education before launching into her own theories. She writes about the need for college to be applicable to what students need to learn to not only become professionals but to be competent workers who are capable of understanding and critical thought which will allow them to better overcome issues in their field. I also plan to explore privatization and its effect on how students pay for college and the kind of system that privatization creates.  Additionally, I want to focus on the German education system in comparison to the American system because of the different focuses on schooling, paying for it and etc. Theories to be discussed are the bubble, and individualism/privatization vs. communal/state funding.
Research Plan, Case or Additional Questions: The essay that I plan to write on the American higher learning system will focus on how an outdated ideology, everyone should go to college, especially if they want to be successful, is detrimental to the United States. This current system seeks to increase college enrollment, not necessarily graduation, which results in students, many of whom cannot afford college or are not entirely truly qualified, to enroll and in so doing accrue debt which they cannot repay and they find themselves overly qualified for the existent job market, thus forcing them to accept to low paying of a job or job that they are over qualified for because of increased competition, caused by increased amounts of graduates, and needing to repay ever growing loans. Thus the bubble theory is created. This essay seeks to run the middle ground of the privatization and higher education debate by seeking to clearly outline or define problems and to suggest possible solutions based on more communal educational systems such as that of the German educational system. I also plan to incorporate an interesting case study involving native Americans. This will lend to my theories of the individualistic and standardized nature of the American school system which fosters individual success which fosters the acceptance of privatization. This will be greater elaborated upon and better incorporated once it is blended into my analysis and comparison of the German educational system to the American. These systems see education as a means to better a nation. While, the American system is the result of a longstanding tradition of rugged individualism which naturally focuses on the importance and success of the individual over that of the community. People do not want to invest in other people, they only want to invest in their own success. This will be shown to be a cause for privatization because privatization places, most simply, the cost of education upon the individual not the community.






Working Bibliography:
Work Cited
Fein, Melvyn. "The 'Professionalized' Solution To The 'College Bubble'." Society 51.3 (2014): 200-209. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
Hummelsheim, Stefan1, Stefan.Hummelsheim@giz.de, and Michaela2,Michaela.Baur@giz.de Baur. "The German Dual System Of Initial Vocational Education And Training And Its Potential For Transfer To Asia." Prospects (00331538) 44.2 (2014): 279-296.Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
Iannone, Carol. Bubble Trouble. 26 Aug. 2011. EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION TO THIS ISSUE. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.
Jamshidi, Laleh1, laleh.jamshidi@yahoo.com, et al. "Developmental Patterns Of Privatization In Higher Education: A Comparative Study." Higher Education 64.6 (2012): 789-803. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
Lomawaima, K. Tsianina, and Teresa L. McCarty. "Chapter 1: Choice and Self-Determination: Central Lessons From American Indian Education." To Remain an Indian. New York: Teacher's College, 2006. 1-42. Print.
Menashy, Francine. "Theorizing Privatization In Education: Comparing Conceptual Frameworks And The Value Of The Capability Approach." Current Issues In Comparative Education 16.1 (2013): 13-25. ERIC. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Blog #3

My topic directly relates to privatization as discussed in class because although I do not attempt to justify the privatization as being fair or unfair, I simply try to explain it as the result of a flawed American educational ideology. I do not mean to say our ideology of education was or is wrong, rather to the extent to which it has been carried out, one must surely see an issue. This issue being explained, in my devil's advocate research paper, that too many students enrolling in higher education has resulted in the need for greater private involvement in paying for college because the government is unable to fund so many students going to school, nor is the nation capable of appropriately employing (employed/salaried at a rate applicable and proportional to their education) so many collegiate students. Privatization has resulted in students being put under such great stress that if they are able to graduate from college they are unable to make good on their loans, mainly because they do not have the salary, initial capital, or health.
Default: The Student Loan Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvQR93C6n2E

Blog #2

I have decided to change the topic of my interest to something a little more along the lines of something like the devil's advocate. I plan to write about privatization from the other spectrum. This means that I hope to focus on privatization as the result of a faulty and outdated American ideology, that in order to be successful, one must receive the highest education possible which usually translates to attending college and possibly even graduate school. This ideology has resulted in not just more Americans attending school but a higher percentage of the population enrolling in higher education. Inherently, many of these people increasingly so do not have the financial means to attend school. Additionally, increased attendance has had the effect of dispersing or diluting federal funding. This means that the number and amount of private loans has had to increase. Furthermore, as more students attend and graduate from college, the value of a college degree will decrease thus requiring to students to enroll in graduate school programs thus compounding the accumulation of debt. As a result, students are spending a great deal of their working lives attending school, trying to earn an education, while accruing massive debts, and then having to apply for a job for which they are usually far to qualified. This has breed a society which is not only frustrated but is under constant stress due to the requirements of the schooling system. We are creating  a population which is not suited for the work/economy/ jobs that need to be filled.

I have found some sources via epscohost that support of this abridged theory: Bubble Trouble by Carol Iannone- the cost of college and the education that is obtained from it
and
HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION? PERCEPTIONS OF COLLEGE
AND EXPERIENCES OF STRESS PRIOR TO AND THROUGH THE COLLEGE CAREER. by KREIG, DANA BALSINKI- expenses for the post college graduate and what is expected of them in our society 

Controversy: Yes, the stance that I will be taking is a more conservative opinion of the American education system and funding higher education. The more moderate and liberal view of education is discussed in the opposite terms which can be summarized in the following: each has the right to the best education that they can earn despite financial burdens (gov. should remove economic barriers) and that privatization should be decreased dramatically etc.