Problems Facing the U.S. Education System and its Impact on Economy

Problems Facing the U.S Education System and its Impact on Economy
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Table of contents
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………3
Part 1: Education and economy……………………………………………………..3
Part 2: Problems facing the U.S education system………………………………….4
Attrition rates………………………………………………………………..5
Lack of parental involvement……………………………………………….6
Poor reading habits………………………………………………………….8
Part 3: Policies………………………………………………………………………9
Teacher’s support systems………………………………………………….10
Parents’ education…………………………………………………………..10
Improvement of reading habits……………………………………………..11
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….11
Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………….13
Education and Economic growth
Introduction
Education is a very important aspect in the growth of the economy and in determining the overall quality of life. With its great contribution to the economy, improving the quality of education is imperative through the establishment of appropriate and effective policies that guarantee improved standards and quality. Currently, the American education system is experiencing problems that have contributed to its decline over the years. This paper will focus on the main problems facing the American education system and their effect. In addition, it will present suggestions that are in line with the problems as potential solution s. The paper will derive information from academic books that discuss the American education system and relevant websites that are peer reviewed and that present factual and reliable information.
Part 1
Relationship between education and the economy
Education is a major factor in the growth of the economy in any nation. In the U.S, the growth of the economy has been presented as one of the many reasons for pushing for school reforms (Hanushek et al par2). This stems from the understanding of the real significance of education in fostering economic growth. The National Commission on Excellence in Education, in its report titled “a nation at risk” stipulated that it was imperative to reform the education system of the U.S in order to maintain a competitive edge in the world markets (Hanushek et al par3) Moreover, the report stated that the reforms had to cater for all the social classes in the American society: poor, rich, old and young, and the minority and majority groups. This report was tabled in 1983. In response to this report, the National Governors Association promised to spearhead the reforms and ensure that U.S students were the best in the world in the fields of mathematics and science by the year 2000 (Hanushek et al par6). Unfortunately, the U.S. is a long way from achieving that. This has resulted from the lack of commitment and understanding of the impact of education on the economy.
The growth of the economy is affected by the average number of years spent in school. The higher the number of years, the higher the growth of the economy (Hanushek et al par9). Education increases cognitive skills whose contribution to economic growth is immense. It determines individual earnings, the distribution of income in the economy and governs the overall growth of the economy. Cognitive skills are represented by both low and high-level skills, the ability of these skills to complement each other and the standards of economic institutions in ensuring quality. In addition, the relationship between acquired skills and growth is important in its contribution to education and economic growth.
Part 2
Problems facing the U.S education system
The education system of the U.S is experiencing many problems that have led to its decline. This decline presents potentially harmful effects to the economy considering the economic benefits associated with education. The main problems include high teacher attrition rates, lack of parental involvement in the education process and poor reading habits (Sowell 24). Each of the problems has its contribution to the decline in the quality of education. These problems contribute to lack of growth and result in a decline in the competitiveness of the U.S in the global markets (Sowell 27). This results from decline in the economic strength, which gives a country a competitive edge in the global economy.
Attrition rates
One of the main problems facing the American education system is the shrinking number of teachers that is occurring at an alarming rate (Sowell 49). Teaching is arguably one of the most difficult professions and only those not involved in it argue that it is an easy one. In contrast, it is a very demanding profession with great responsibilities and pressures. However, its rewards are immense if considered from a positive perspective. The most unfortunate thing is that most teachers do not stick with the profession long enough to enjoy its rewards. The pressures are too much that most opt out halfway. There are very challenging statistics that reveal the extent of the problem of the teacher’s attrition rate. Forty-six percent of teachers hired by the government quit the profession after five years (Buchen 67). This percentage is greater in the urban areas and stands at fifty percent. The statistics further point out that ninety percent of all teachers hired in the U.S are replacements of teachers who quit under circumstances other than reaching the retirement age (Buchen 69). These statistics show the little importance placed on college education by most people because most spend four years in college pursuing a career that they abandon after serving for five years or less.
These statistics make it easy to understand the current decline in standards of education in the U.S. First, the amount of money used in hiring teachers is exerting a lot of pressure on education budgets and thus money to fund the process is not sufficient. Teacher attrition has increased by 50 percent and this has amplified the financial burden of hiring new teachers (Buchen 77). The annual budget of hiring and training new teachers is approximately $7 billion and is growing as the attrition rate increases. This money could be channeled to other more important educational exploits other than spending it on hiring and training teachers year after year. Such exploits could include buying more books and learning materials, funding research projects and improving the quality of technology currently used in the education system (Buchen 81). This trend is not only lethal to the education budget, but also to students. With the increasing rate of qualified teachers abdicating the profession for others, the standards of the education students are receiving is very low. According to Buchen (67), the major goal of the education system is the provision of high quality education to students and the rising attrition rate of teachers is contributing to the provision of education of low standards and quality.
The rate of teachers leaving the teaching profession is high because of several reasons. These include complex teaching tasks, insufficient teaching resources, conflicts in the roles that teachers are supposed to play, isolation of the profession from other professions and reality shock. For first time teachers, these problems create a lot of pressure and the only solution they consider is quitting. Most teachers hired are new and that is why the attrition rate is high. New teachers are unable to bears with pressures created by the above-mentioned problems and they resolve to quit.
Lack of parental involvement
Lack of parental involvement is another problem facing the U.S education system (Yanushevsky 29). This has contributed to the attrition rate of teachers in a direct way because of relegation of responsibilities to teachers makes it more difficult. It is the role of parents to get involved in the education of their children to ease the burden of teachers. Unfortunately, there is diminishing involvement of parents in the education of their children that is fuelled by several factors. The involvement of parents at the various school levels is minimal as claimed by teachers. The quality of education depends on the active role played by parents and teachers. If parents delegate their roles to teachers then the quality of education is expected to decline (...