The following section is a review of literature about managerial decisions in relation to competitive school marketization in the US. Clearly, marketization, a concept that involves the rearrangement, remodeling, and alteration of the publicly-owned organizations or enterprises into the market-based entities, remains to be a collective occurrence, particularly in the present century. Through marketization, popular learning institutions in the US have been changed from being possessed by the government to market-oriented foundations meant to increase quality and key operations (Judson & Taylor, 2014; Cucchiara, Gold, & Simon, 2011). Several scholars and researchers have carried out analysis and evaluation on how marketization impact education in the US (Bartlett, Frederick, Gulbrandsen, & Murillo, 2002; Judson & Taylor, 2014). Consequently, the present study reviews some of the literature …show more content…
The latest move toward marketization, according to Judson and Taylor (2014), can be largely attributed to historical political foundations which caused an increase in focus on personalization in teaching methods. The political pressures have increased across the US in relation to how education is usually funded (Judson & Taylor, 2011). While the public increasingly continues to support the educational empowerment, academic institutions (both colleges and high schools) find themselves engaging in competition to ensure they enroll numerous students who in turn fund their operating expenses (Judson & Taylor, 2014). Since the financial sources have changed from the support by the public to use of tuition fees, most institutions use marketing strategies that are aligned with provision of more satisfactory student experiences that guarantee, in turn, high retention and graduation rates (Natale & Doran, 2012; Cucchiara et al, 2011; Lundahl et al,
In the essay, “College Consumerism Run Amok” authored by Kevin Carey describe how colleges are careless with their money. Throughout the essay, Kevin Carey explains why normal people think the average price of college tuition has risen across the United States. People believe college tuition is rising because students demand colleges to have “creature comforts”, such as luxury dorms, a fully operational gym, and a climbing wall. Also, that the creation for “creature comforts” in colleges has caused academic standards to decline. Yet, colleges market to students with these amenities instead of showing students comparable statistics: the quality of teaching, scholarships, and academic environment. Kevin Carey, in the end, sums up his idea with
College is marketed towards students as an essential part of building a successful future. The United States “sells college” to those who are willing to buy into the business (Lee 671). With the massive amounts of student debts acquired every year, and the rising costs of
Higher education has continued to evolve just as society has in its accessibility and purpose in surviving its students. In Mark Edmundson’s On the uses of a liberal education: 1. as lite entertainment for bored college students, he discusses how consumer culture has turned every aspect of higher education into a buyer’s market which students feed into. William Deresiewicz’s The Neoliberal Arts: How college sold its should to the market expands on this idea from the 90’s through a modern interpretation. Deresiewicz uses the term neoliberalism to discuss how universities are at fault for succumbing to societal influences of ideals based on monetary value. Deresiewicz’s definition of neoliberalism expands on Edmundson’s prior ideas of consumer
The advertisements are everywhere -- on local television stations it is Everest Institute, or Brown Mackie College. On South Florida highway billboards, it is the University of Phoenix. All are selling a quick, convenient college education, and the dream of a better life. In this economy, people are buying, and in the process the schools -- built to make a profit -- are thriving. What is less clear, though, is how much students actually benefit. For-profit colleges, many with night classes and entire degree programs available online, are built to fit seamlessly into the busy life of a working adult.
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
Community colleges and vocational tracks are not wrong about the high cost of traditional higher education. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, one year at a public, four-year institution costs upwards of $23,000 on average, while private institutions will cost nearly $10,000 more on average. Coupled with the fact that prices at public institutions rose 42 percent and private institutions rose 31 percent between 2001 and 2011, it’s not a shock that parents and students alike worry about paying for college. However, this won’t always be the case, as this rise in prices simply cannot continue the way it has. Eventually, people will be unable to pay the price that colleges charge. They will either settle for com...
Public and charter schools may look to be the same, but charter schools differ in many ways and have an interesting origin that is often overlooked. The concept of charter schools began in New York City around the late 1980s and early 1990s by a man name Albert Shanker. They were originally created to be teacher-run schools that would provide education and services to students struggling in the traditional school system (Karp, 2013). These schools had operated outside the administrative bureaucracy and the big city school board. Shanker initial concern was that these small charter schools were dividing the district by serving a different population with unequal access as well as weakening the power of teacher union in negotiation over district-wide policies and regulations (Karp, 2013). Because of this Shanker withdrew his support, but charters had continued to grow and states were ...
In a letter to columnist Ann Landers, a college professor wrote about his views of the education system. He feels that universities have turned into businesses where teachers are just looking for money and students are just looking for a piece of paper with a title on it. He says that the students of today think they are automatically entitled to a degree because they pay tuition (Depressed Old Prof. 3-B). Adding to the profit motive for schools is the government which, for the p...
As the high school chapter is coming to a close, many students have to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. Hopefully, for many that decision is to enroll in a college and attain a higher education. However, as tuition costs rise, students have to take a second look at their options for a better future. A community college is that second look for many because it is the less expensive option. From 2007-2009, enrollment for community colleges has increased by 24 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). Students aren’t choosing a college for educational purposes because they are overwhelmed by financial issues. They are attending community colleges so they will be able to graduate with a lower debt. Some seniors have wanted to attend a certain university all their life and they work toward that goal through grade school; however, they are hindered by soaring tuition for that college. Students should be able to attend a private university if they mee...
Zimmer, R. and Buddin, R. (2009), Is Charter School Competition in California Improving the Performance of Traditional Public Schools?. Public Administration Review, 69: 831–845. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.02033.x
When people like Clifford examine education, it is not the worth and value they see, but the opportunity for profit. With nearly $5-billion provided from the federal government, for-profits are able to advertise 24/7 availability, along with quick and easy degrees. As stated in the article, “a quarter of all federal aid goes to for-profits, while they enroll only 10 percent of students” (216). Yet, the cost of tuition at for-profit institutions continues to be significantly higher than colleges and universities—leaving many graduates with a lifetime of debt—while maintaining they do not “have any responsibility whatsoever for how much students borrow and whether they can pay it back” (218). What Carey presents as a measure of success proves to show exactly what damages for-profits cause.
Since that time, Americans have struggled and campaigned to uphold support for the education of the youth of the nation. Funding often puts this support in limbo as it often teeters along with the unpredictability of the economy. Public schools are supported by the taxes of the American people. By virtue of that fact, it is no wonder that the practice of corporate sponsorship is attractive and ho...
Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it, and there is no simple answer to this rising issue in an ever changing nation full of unique people. Any final decision would affect the United States in all factions- especially economically and socially. However, despite the many arguments against college, there is overwhelming proof that college is good for all students, academically or not.
Education reform in the United States has recently come under scrutiny after many recent failed proposals. President George W. Bush implemented one of the most popular choices of education reform with his “No Child Left Behind” system. However, that policy reform in the past five years has faded to nothing more than a mistake. This mistake has haunted the education systems in America, but it is not the only reform proposal to shake up the school systems across the States. One new proposal that has caught the eye of some current state politicians is the idea of school choice. School choice is giving the option to parents to take their children to different schools, which is different from assigning children to schools based on the location of their houses. Does giving the parents of children an option to choose what school their child goes to create a spirit of competition? That is partly the goal with the school choice reform policy proposal along with many other facets that can completely revitalize the education system in the United States. The stipulations of this proposal involve a variety of suggestions to help strengthen the core of our education system.
Against what Chubb and Moe (1988, 1991) have put forward, Smith (1994), using a district-level data set of Florida public schools, further examined the linkages between organization, competition and public school performance. Findings of this single state research, through rigorous analysis, failed to provide evidence as public choice advocates argued school bureaucracy is the determinant of school performance. Moreover, bureaucracy has not been proven the impact for poor school performance. In a converse way, competition between public and private schools appeared to result in a creaming effect, which will exacerbate the already considerable inequities among school districts (Smith, 1994). Furthermore, Smith and Meier (1995) continued to test the cream-skimming hypothesis as above, showing that there is lack of evidence to conclude public choice as better way to pursue satisfying performance. Arguing that the demand for a higher quality education rests heavily on comparisons between public and private schools, public choice, to some extent, would create more potential religious services and racial segregation, which are not the original functions of public school using supported tax. In brief, no conclusive evidence demonstrates that eliminating democratic control of schools and submitting education to the forces of the market would produce the desired effects (Smith and Meier,