Discrimination, inequality and the competitive model of US education

Abstract

US public education is dominated by a win‐lose competitive model. While this model has been relatively successful in educating and training most Americans to function in the type of economic environment that has prevailed since the Second World War, it has almost completely failed to develop a citizenry that can participate fully in the political and social spheres of a capitalist democracy. The relative success in training workers may be on the wane as the US economy evolves toward more knowledge‐intensive work, requiring more critical thinking and worker autonomy. Even worse, the competitive model in US public education is a powerful promoter of the growth of earnings inequality and racial discrimination. Examines the current educational system, the role of standardized testing, and proposes a model of cooperative learning to develop a better‐educated citizenry and workforce.

Citation

Luker, B., Cobb, S.L. and Luker, W.A. (2001), "Discrimination, inequality and the competitive model of US education", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 28 No. 10/11/12, pp. 987-1002. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000006136