Introduction
There are a vast number of controversies that exist in the realm of human life in the society today. The United States of America as a contemporary society is no exception as there are many controversies ranging from one field or realm of human life to the other.
This is for example controversies surrounding politics, technology, social issues such as abortion, the use of biological weapons and dozens of others. All these controversies make headlines on a daily basis as people engage in debate and discourses based on their different opinions. In any policy enacted or for any existing policy in America, there is usually a controversy emanating from two conflicting opinions.
In the United States of America, education system which is one of the public sectors has raised many controversies. The author of this paper will discuss several controversies emerging in this sector in the recent past. The education sector in this country will be looked at from the perspective of a public policy.
To this end, the researcher will describe and analyze the scope of the public policy concern, identify the stakeholders and affected constituencies, identify political institutions that are relevant to the policy aspect of public education in the United States of America and analyze some proposed policies to address the issue. These and other issues will be looked at in this paper.
Current Issues in the United States of America’s Education System
The schooling system in the United States of America has remained the centre of many debates since it was started. The question has always arisen as to what are some of the most debated issues in the US education system. It is to be noted that there are many issues which are debated in this country’s public education system. These range from funding, development of the curriculum, prayers in schools among others (Wilsonr, 2008). The following are some of these issues which the author of this paper is going to put into perspective:
Prayers in the Public Schools: A Controversial Issue
There are many parties involved in the debate around this issue especially the Atheists who are of the view that prayers in schools is just a waste of time as they believe that prayers do not lead to anything substantial for the learner or for the school at large.
They are against the Bible doubting the existence of the deity espoused therein. Some of these controversies have even ended up in courtrooms as there are other people in other schools of thought who are firm believers of prayers in both public and private schools in the United States of America.
Standard Ways of Testing the Competency of Learners in American Schools
People are divided on this subject as they hold different opinions on the same. There are those who are for the standard tests while others are against the same. There are contentions that learners with different levels of strength are subjected to the same test conditions creating unfair and ‘unleveled’ playing field for the students.
This is said to cause more harm than good to the education system in the United States of America. Still on the same, teachers are said to “teach examination” rather than equipping students with skills that will help them to fit in the work place as well as becoming critical thinkers in the future (Akot, 2009).
This has forced policy makers in the country to engage in discussions with the other concerned stakeholders to formulate effective policies to respond to these issues. In the process of responding to the critics, members of the public are not satisfied with the outcomes and conflicts still persist. This makes it hard to come up with an effective policy to address the issue (Akot, 2009).
The standard testing criterion is also said to be a challenge to the learners with special needs (read disabilities) and an urgent policy that favors their capability is needed. Learners of this nature are said to be disadvantaged in the current education system. Parents and the other parties concerned with disabilities in schools have conflicting opinions that are said to lead to nowhere. This makes the standards of public education in America to be questionable (Akot, 2009).
Should Sex Education be Part of the School Curriculum?
Different groups are sharply divided when it comes to the sex education policy as stakeholders in the health care sector, school administrators and parents try to debate on the different approaches that should be adopted.
Some are comfortable with children being taught the subject while others contend that the subject is leading to unprecedented increase in the number of teenage pregnancies in the country. This has elicited different reactions from both sides of the divide as those objecting the move state that the system is instilling wrong morals in the learners (Wilsonr, 2008).
There are other controversies that are to be found in the country’s public education system. Some of the issues which were not discussed in this paper include:
- Home schooling and public schools
- The appropriateness and need for uniforms in schools
- Courses for people with special needs
- The concern that special education is becoming too expensive for the people with special needs
The Scope of the Public Policy Concerned
Overview
The public policy concerned in this issue is the education system in the United States of America in the public sector. It is this system that meets the educational needs of different people in the society in different ways. The schools are controlled and funded by the three authorities which are the federal, state and local governments.
These three levels of control define education policies which are then taken up by the society and finally implemented in the education system. These policies describe the values through which the society is going to tackle its social issues (Rhodes, 2012).
Policies underlying the education system in America are guided by three cultural elements. These are equality, efficiency and liberty which are used to mold education policies in response to most of the issues arising in the educational system in America. Members of the public holds a different opinion towards the actions undertaken by the policy makers in initiating different policies directed towards the education system. The sectors try to maximize the demands of the stakeholders in the education system (Akot, 2009).
Stakeholders and the Affected Constituencies
According to scholars in the education sector, there are a large number of stakeholders in the system ranging from students, academic advisors, policy makers and parents among others. Since the industrial revolution, the global society has undergone a tremendous change which has led to the decentralization of information eliciting different opinions from different people. This has led to different reactions across the continuum as controversies continue to emerge (Rhodes, 2012)
In the American education system, different stakeholders ensure that the information is circulated to all parties to initiate within the school system the appropriate changes and as such the debated opinions are bound to arise.
The school’s board of directors, superintendents and site administrators are some of the stakeholders who ensures that the policies augers well with the current system of education. Different stakeholders have different roles to play which affects different constituencies across the American states. For example the school’s board of directors ensures that the provisions of the policy are followed to the letter in every public school (Wilsonr, 2008).
The author of this paper is going to focus on the controversial issues facing the education system in the United States of America. To illustrate this, a good example will be the banning of prayers in schools which continues to make headlines with no possible solution. If a teacher engages students in religious functions, they are bound to be sucked or faced with disciplinary actions in some states.
The board justifies the sucking of a teacher or a disciplinary action on them when they are perceived as having violated the religious values like Christmas symbols. Because they are safeguarding the implementation of the policy, they are the ones bestowed with the mandate of deciding the best policies to adhere to. This issue has affected a number of districts across the different states in America (Wilsonr, 2008).
A good example of this is the Massachusetts district where teachers criticized the existence of religious symbols in classes. An agreement was reached after a meeting with the concerned stakeholders who included the teachers, the board of governors as well as the religious leaders.
It was agreed that the symbols would only be abolished if one of the stakeholders in the education system feels uncomfortable with their presence in the classroom (Wilsonr, 2008). This is an indication of how controversy in the education sector has brought together different people with different opinions with the aim of reaching a consensus.
Political Institutions Relevant to Education Issues in the United States of America
The political institutions relevant to the education system in this country are three in total. These sectors include the federal government, the public sector and the local government which operates within the states. These sectors have been bombarded with a number of issues which the public demands answers for. In addition, members of the public are demanding that the education department to publicize the different stakeholders and parties who are in control of the education system in the United States of America.
There has been confusion on who actually makes decisions for the schools especially during this era of so many reforms in the public schools. In addition to this the constituents wants to know who is actually concerned with the welfare of the students in their schools (Stone, 2008).
Although the other political players are trying to answer and tackle some of the issues facing the public, they act as though they are not directly answerable to the demands of the people. Many politicians as well as the other public key players such as the government and policy makers insist that the only alternative is to prioritize education reforms that addresses education matters for all American children (Stone, 2008).
Proposed Policies in Addressing Education Issues in America
Quite a number of policies have been implemented to respond to the many issues facing education system in America. For example, the No Child Left Behind Act (herein referred to as NCLB) was implemented to make sure that the current education system focuses on holistic education that not only prepares learners for the future but also makes them become critical thinkers in the society. When students become critical analyzers of their lives, they can handle a lot of issues that appear to be complex for them (Stone, 2008).
The act is also meant to ensure that all issues are taken care of in the current education system. This is given that it addresses major areas in education which are in need of response and actions. The congress implemented this act soon after president Bush took office. It was meant to address a number of issues facing the education system in the country.
As the author of this paper has indicated earlier the learners with special needs or those with disabilities are having a hard time meeting the education costs. The act was a timely response to some of their needs (Stone, 2008).
The act also touched on the standard testing procedures which have elicited controversies on whether it was appropriate to subject all the students to the same testing conditions. The act commonly referred to as the NCLB has implemented many policies based on the standard testing procedure to make sure that learners are equipped with education that is of high quality (Stone, 2008).
The following are some of the provisions of the act which addressed the education system in American states:
- Parents to be involved in the education of their children
- The need to make sure that progress is monitored through correct procedures
- Teachers are competent enough to handle all kinds of students as well as to formulate principles that accommodates the whole community
- Achievement of high standards of education in all education systems in the United States of America
All these policies are meant to guide the education system in the US given that the policies that were initially in place seemed to be obsolete. Many people questioned the outdated policies that seemed unable to meet the needs of the present education system in a changing world (Cropf, 2008).
The author is now going to provide their views concerning the implemented policies.
Author’s Views on the Implemented Policies
The author of this paper applauds the move by the federal government to make sure that the learners in all the American states get quality education under all circumstances. NCLB act is a policy in the right direction since the learners especially those with special needs have in the past been disadvantaged in meeting the educational costs. Another issue which was controversial to most of the stakeholders was the standard testing procedure. This has also been put into consideration in the new policy.
However the author of this paper is convinced that some areas in the education system will remain unaddressed. This is for example given that the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) and NCLB are not compatible with one another in addressing the needs of the learners with special needs.
For example IDEA advocates for individualized programs for the learners with special needs. NCLB on the other hand bases its system on the same criteria (for example aiming for high proficiency in mathematics) but without individualized programs. This term is not used in its implementation. This makes the whole process a threat to the learners with special needs where progress is not taken into consideration when following up on their performance in class.
The policy advocates for the inclusion of the learners with special needs in the mainstream learning system but still there are contentions as IDEA argues that the process is efficient as it makes sure that these students learn the same things with the others without special needs.
However NCLB act adopts a different perspective in that it prefers the disabled learners to coagulate within their own environment so that they can be assisted fully. There is controversy surrounding this as many perceive it as a form of isolation or discrimination which persists to their future making it difficult for them to operate fully within the mainstream society.
Stakeholders in the system should take precautions when implementing the policy. Even though the policy has already been enacted, there are various issues that persist and which need to be addressed. The policy makers are yet to address the problem fully as there are many unsettled issues resulting into controversial arguments among the people in the United States. Generally the policy has various effects on the student as well as the school system as a whole.
These are both negative and positive effects. However it is noted that the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones. However the problem persists given the low levels of public awareness regarding the importance of educating the American people on the needs of the policy. As a result of this the policy remains unpopular to a large extent.
The Cost of Addressing the Issues
It is noted that people are still waiting for the formulation of a comprehensive policy to address the issues in the education system. To this end the author is going to discuss the costs of addressing the issues in the education system in the United States of America.
The sitting president has tackled the issue by providing more financial support to the education sector which is estimated to cost the tax payer more than $11,000 per student. This is in efforts to meet the desired quality of education in the society (Stone, 2008). Every year this amount rises further as the policies become more complex and more sophisticated to implement.
Conclusion
Public administration is an important sector in the public domain. Public administrators ensure the efficient delivery of services in the society. The government makes sure that the federal states receive meets their needs accordingly. The public sector is in the forefront when it comes to the distribution of goods and services on behalf of the government.
Public policy becomes an important aspect in providing services to the public. Policies in the education system are fervently debated on to make sure that the right initiatives are put in place for the bright future of American students.
References
Akot, J. (2009). Understanding and facilitating organizational change in the 21st Century: Education Report. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cropf, R. (2008). American public administration: Public service for the 21st Century. 1st ed. New York, NY: Pearson Longman.
Rhodes, H. (2012). An education in politics: The origins and evolution of No Child Left Behind. New York: Cornell University Press.
Stone, D. (2008). Global public policy, transnational policy communities and their networks. Journal of Policy Sciences, 29(1), 121-309.
Wilsonr, L. (2008). Great American schools: The power of culture and passion. Education Digest journal, 73(6), 13-18.