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Working Title: College For All: An Outdated and Detrimental Ideology

Topic: Research will be conducted on the outdated American ideology that in order to succeed one must attend and graduate from college.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or Additional Questions: The essay that I plan to write on the American higher learning system will focus on how an outdated ideology, everyone should go to college, especially if they want to be successful, is detrimental to the United States.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.